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kaysutcliff-michaelis · 4 years ago

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Bright We Burn ending rant (SPOILERS)

Under the cut you will find my opinion with lots of spoilers, capitals and cursing about Bright We Burn (and the Conqueror’s saga in general) written by Kiersten White.

Quoting from https://booksandreaderssite.wordpress.com/2018/10/13/bright-we-burn/ “This book was ruined by the author falling in love with her own character: Perfect Beloved Radu“

I finished reading the book like an hour ago and I’ve been complaining, crying, and looking for reviews since then. I hate it, hate it so much, as much as I loved the first two books and the beginning of this one.

The impression I get from the ending is not one I expected to get from a book that had a strong female protagonist as its main selling point. Mainly because said protagonist gets the worst possible ending. I didn’t expect a happy go lucky ending, I didn’t even expect her not to die or the author to stray too far from historical facts. Just because of the title I expected her to be like a shooting star, briefly burning bright. But she didn’t burn bright, she just burn. What I didn’t expect was the ending feeling completely alien to the rest of the saga.

Lada is ruthless, strong, smart, a great tactician and has her sights focused on her goal, being the prince of Wallachia. And fuck Mehmed, Radu, her father, and whoever tries to prevent her from ruling her country. She gets the respect of her men and the people of her country, she’s a good and fair ruler even if she got there with rather bloody methods. But haven’t they all? The Ottoman Empire Mehmed and Radu are so fond of is built on the blood of the janissaries they have taken from vassal states and the blood of the Christians from Constantinople. Yet the moment Lada kills the boyars (who have been leeching off Wallachia for decades) and Mehmed’s envoys (who burnt a village first), she must be stopped. How dare a woman make life easier for the people of the country?

And for some reason, the author allows two men to ruin what Lada has built with blood, sweat and tears. And to add insult to injury, the men who should have helped her (Mehmed even claims “he gave her the throne” as the selfish and self-centered asshole he is).

And she loses everything and everyone who is important to her. Petru, Nicolae, Oana, Stefan, Daciana, and Bogdan. Oh, Bogdan. How I wished Radu lost an eye to compensate for his murder.

And in case that was not enough, the dragon that was so strong and fierce suddenly turns into a girl that is lonely and hurt and needs her brother to survive and give her back her country. The country that never recognised Radu as prince. The country that loved Lada.

HE FUCKING HAD TO GIVE HER WHAT WAS ALREADY HERS. A MAN. AGAIN. HE FUCKING TOOK THE THRONE FROM HER AND FUCKING GAVE IT BACK AS IF HE WAS A DAMN SAINT. ALL SHE DID AND IN THE END SHE WAS PRINCE BECAUSE A FUCKING MAN ALLOWED IT. HOW IS THAT FEMINIST??????????? WHAT IS THE USE IN HAVING SUCH A POWERFUL FEMALE CHARACTER IF THE FULFILLMENT OF HER DREAM DEPENDS ON THE WHIM OF A MALE EVEN AT THE VERY END?

AND HE EVEN GETS AN “I TOLD YOU” MOMENT!!! THE AUDACITY!!!

And her death... such a warrior, killed by a nameless assassin with a knife to the back. A nameless grave. So disrespectful to what Lada was. I don’t care if all the things I didn’t like were for historical accuracy’s sake. Lada was her character and deserved way better than that.

Moving on to the treacherous rat that Radu has become, I liked him so much and in this book I could only pray for someone to smack him as hard as possible. He goes from the poor and traumatised soul that is being manipulated by Mehmed and has lost his best friend and potential partner to enabling Mehmed’s actions while being fully conscious of how he’s being used, instantly healing himself from a trauma that is not relevant ever again, not giving a damn about killing people, sending Kumal to his death without sparing it too many thoughts, and having a cute little happy family while wanting to imprison his sister for the rest of her life and thinking he’s doing her a favor. He actually thought it was good and fair to plan a happy life for himself while destroying everything his sister had fought for. The sister he never ever chose.

Am I the only one who loved that the Danesti brothers started being problematic as soon as Radu gave them the throne?? Boyars will be boyars, and I don’t understand how he thought those two would be better rulers than Lada, they wouldn’t enter the castle and still wanted the money, the lands and the fancy stuff.

I honestly cannot believe how much this character has changed (for the worse), and how he acts like he’s so good and only looking for the best for those he loves when he’s a traitor, a liar, a killer and the reason why Constantinople fell. He cannot forgive Lada for protecting Wallachia, but apparently everyone and their mother have forgiven and forgotten all the blood staining his hands. Also I find it unbelievable how he sells the way the Ottoman Empire is run to Cyprian but then when Lada tried to use some of the things she had learnt there to run Wallachia it was suddenly the worse thing ever. Radu is definitely not the good Dracul sibling, he’s the toxic one.

Speaking about Cyprian, I honestly couldn’t feel happy for them. When he came back to Radu I was already too angry and wanting to send him packing back to Edirne. Amazing how Cyprian can give counsel about how to deal with Lada when all he knows about her is second-hand but he can forgive Radu for lying to him, making the siege worse for everyone, being the reason why his uncle is dead and his city was lost (and even if he doesn’t know about it, the reason why Giustiniani may have died).

And Fatima?? How she “took care” of Lada at the end? I can’t tell if she’s too broken or what, but it was creepy how she could take care of Lada when Nazira wouldn’t even stand being in the same room. Even if she was going to give them her baby, it makes me wonder how messed up she can be to be able to behave that way with the person who killed her brother-in-law and they were so adamant to condemn.

I won’t even talk about the baby thing because that was just so unnecessary for the plot and for Lada herself as a character.

Going back to Radu and before talking about Mehmed, I hate how he is 100% sure that Mehmed knows about his feelings and is using him and said feelings and he??? just??? allows??? it???? Still does whatever he wants, still appears at his doorstep no matter his trauma with Constantinople, still makes Nazira and Fatima leave their house though they had just been reunited and Mehmed didn’t care that much about finding Nazira and STILL at the end, 20 years later is in good terms with him. He didn’t confront Mehmed about using him, never called him out. Radu is the friend who will listen to you when you’re explaining how a common friend has abused you and then will keep being friends with the other person and abandoning you :D

I am not Mehmed’s biggest fan, but it’s like he isn’t even a character anymore in this book. Even if we never have his pov it always felt like this story was a triangle, but at the end it was like he wasn’t there anymore, he isn’t even the source of conflict because Radu isn’t in love with him anymore. Even for all their alleged worries about Theodora being Mehmed’s biological daughter, that issue was glossed over in a matter of three lines. I do wish he had stayed more relevant (and that he had never left Constantinople).

Surely I’m forgetting something but I think my point is clear XD Radu is a hypocrite who didn’t deserve his happy ending, Mehmed became so irrelevant that the plot was missing something, and Lada, our dragon, deserved way better. Oh, and don’t write a “feminist” YA book if the female character is the one who’s going to have the worst ending. It just feels like you’re telling women they will end up alone and dead if they are as strong and determined as Lada, and to suck it up because men will always be forgiven for the crimes.

#the conqueror's saga #and i darken #now i rise #bright we burn #lada dracul #radu dracul #mehmed #kiersten white #spoilers #book rant

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gemsofgreece · 5 years ago

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Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia, its original full name being Ναός της Αγίας του Θεού Σοφίας (Church of the Holy Wisdom of God) is a Greek Orthodox Church located in Istanbul, present day Turkey.

The church was completed in 537 by the orders of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I and it was the most precious and impressive landmark of Constantinople and the entirety of the Byzantine Empire. The basilica was designed by the Greek geometers Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. Upon setting his eyes on the completed church, it is said that Justinian cried out in Byzantine Greek “Νενίκηκά σέ, Σολομών!” (Neníkiká se, Solomón) which means “I have outdone thee, Solomon!” He was referring to Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, whose majesty had been unparalleled according to the Hebrew Bible. Hagia Sophia remained the largest cathedral in the world for the next thousand years. Hagia Sophia became the seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The basilica suffered a lot of damage due to earthquakes, fires and during the era of Byzantine Iconoclasm, when the use of religious images was prohibited. At that time, Emperor Leo the Isaurian (726) ordered the icons to be destroyed, a damage that Empress Irene of Athens (797 - 802) tried to reprieve as much as possible. The cathedral was repaired after each of its destructions.

In 1204, Constantinople was sacked by the Crusaders. According to Greek historian Niketas Choniates, the crusaders stripped Hagia Sophia of all its gold and silver ornaments and several furnishings. According to Arab historian Ali ibn al-Athir, the crusaders also massacred some of its clerics. During the Latin Occupation of Constantinople (1204-1261) Hagia Sophia functioned as a Roman Catholic Church but its extensive damage was not repaired until its return to Orthodox control.

On 29 May 1453, Constantinople fell to the attacking forces of the Ottoman Turks which marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the beginning of a several centuries long enslavement of Greek and Slavic people. During the siege of the city, the women, children, elderly and sick seeked refuge inside Hagia Sophia. When the city fell, the Ottoman troops headed to pillage the Church first thing.The sick and elderly they found inside the Church were killed and the children and women were sold as slaves. When Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror came to see the church himself, he immediately ordered it to be converted into a mosque. Mehmed renovated Hagia Sophia and retained its name as Aya Sofya, which became the first imperial mosque in Constantinople, now called Istanbul.

During Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent’s reign (1520-1566), the gorgeous mosaics depicting Jesus, Mary and various Byzantine emperors were covered by whitewash and plaster, which was removed only in 1931.

Until the 20th century, Hagia Sophia had been renovated and modified many times, especially with the addition of structures of the Islamic faith. The most notable example of restoration was by Sultan Abdulmejid (1823 - 1861) who hired the Swiss-Italian architects Gaspare and Giuseppe Fossati for the job. The brothers worked on strengthening the structure in many ways and tried to prevent further damage to the Christian mosaics and decorations.

Gaspare Fossati's 1852 depiction of the Hagia Sophia, which he and his brother renovated. Lithograph by Louis Haghe

In 1931, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, first president of the Republic of Turkey, which is the natural successor of the Ottoman Empire, ordered that Hagia Sophia should be turned into a museum. He was thus trying to make Turkey a secular state and lead it to the path of a more contemporary and tolerant society. For the first time in centuries, the carpets were removed to reveal the marble floor decorations and the plaster was also removed, uncovering many of the worn mosaics. The state of the Church was deteriorating and its restoration was funded by WMF. It was finished in 2006. By 2014, Hagia Sophia was the second most visited museum in Turkey, with 3.3 million visitors annually. In 2006, the Turkish government permitted Christians and Muslims alike to pray in a small room but it was strictly prohibited in the rest of the building.

In 2007, Greek American and Turkish movements started campaigns so that Hagia Sophia would function as a church or a mosque respectively. Since the 2010s, several turkish campaigns and government officials demanded Hagia Sophia to be turned to a mosque again. When Pope Francis acknowledged the Armenian Genocide in 2015, which Turkey officially denies, the Mufti of Ankara threatened that the conversion of Hagia Sophia would be accelerated. In 2016 and ever since, muslim prayers have been held there by various groups but the Association for the Protection of Historic Monuments and the Environment filed a lawsuit and the court decided the monument should remain a museum.

Since 2018, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed his intent to convert Hagia Sophia to a mosque, aiming to ensure the vote of the religious populace. He added that Atatürk’s move to make Hagia Sophia a museum was a “very big mistake”. Inside Hagia Sophia, he dedicated his prayer to all the souls who “left them this work of inheritance” and especially the conqueror of the Church and its city. In May 2020, Turkey celebrated the anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople with an Islamic prayer inside Hagia Sophia. Greece condemned that action and the Turkish goverment called that stance futile.

On 10 July 2020, and in the mid of tense relations of Turkey with many countries, including Greece, the Council of State with Erdogan’s influence decided the turn of Hagia Sophia to a mosque. The decision received secular and global criticism as well as requests to be undone. The decision is supported by the large majority of the politicians in Turkey and the largest part of the public. A few Turk scholars have denounced the decision. With a blatant indifference to the concerns, the Turkish president invited many foreign leaders to the opening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque, including some of those expressing concern and particularly Pope Francis.

On 22 July, the ancient marble floor was covered once again with carpets. The Christian mosaics will be once again hidden with curtains and lasers, with the promise that they won’t be further destroyed.

As Hagia Sophia is a UNESCO World Heritage Monument, this decision needed the official agreement of its committee. This step was ignored and UNESCO announced its deep regret for this decision. The World Council of Churches, Pope Francis, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church’s Patriarch Kirill of Moscow have denounced the conversion. Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative of the foreign affairs, Greek culture Minister Lina Mendoni, the spokesperson of the USA Morgan Ortagus, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the foreign minister of France, Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy head of the foreign affairs committee of the Russian Federation Council have all criticised the move. The former deputy prime minister of Italy Mario Salvini led a protest against the decision, calling for all plans of a future accession of Turkey in the EU to be terminated once and for all. Greece and Cyprus called for EU sanctions on Turkey. A protest was held in East Jerusalem, Israel, during which a Turkish flag was burned and a Greek and a Greek Orthodox Church flag were displayed.

From the other side, Ersin Tatar, the prime minister of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, congratulated the decision. This state is globally recognised only by Turkey, as the rest of the world acknowledges it as occupation of the northern part of Cyprus since the Turkish invasion in 1974. The foreign ministry of Iran, the Arab Maghreb Union, the grand Mufti of Oman and the Pakistani politician Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi supported the decision. The Muslim Judicial Council in South Africa celebrated by sacrificing a camel. On the other hand, Shawki Allam, grand Mufti of Egypt, ruled that conversion of the Hagia Sophia to a mosque is "impermissible".

Hagia Sophia opened as a mosque for Friday prayers on 24 July amongst celebrations and even songs with lyrics such as “you were always ours and we’ll always be yours”. In Greece, bells tolled and flags flew at half-staff at hundreds of churches across the country in protest. It is the fourth Byzantine Greek church converted from museum to a mosque during Erdoğan's rule.

And that is the story of Hagia Sophia.

*All information is from Wikipedia and various news sites.

#greece #turkey #religion #hagia sophia #unesco world heritage #news #greek history #byzantine history #for some reason a picture doesn't show in dashboard #but you can see it in my blog

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radudracula · 6 years ago

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Radu’s Story

Note: This is the “Hollywood�� version of the story including many popular myths about Radu cel Frumos. How true some of these myths are will be further explored in later posts on this blog.

Do you want to hear a story?

It’s about Dracula.

No, not that Dracula, the real one.

No, not Vlad “the Impaler” Dracula. The other one. Radu “the Beautiful” Dracula.

There’s two Draculas! you say.

Well, actually there were three, (not including all the illegitimate Draculas) but I’m here to tell you about the youngest; Radu III cel Frumos.

A quick google search will tell you lots about this obscure Romanian noble – he was the Sultan’s “homosexual obsession”, “the man who killed Dracula”, the man who actually inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a Muslim, a Christian, a weak-pushover and a strong military leader. In fact it will tell you so many things that you may ended up knowing nothing about him. In any case, let me try to give you an overview of the Hollywood highlights of the other Dracula’s life.

The 15th century Balkans

Radu was born sometime between 1437-1439, the third legitimate son of Vlad II Dracul. His father was Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia – barely. Despite being declared Voivode of Wallachia in 1431 Vlad Dracul hadn’t actually obtained the throne until 1436 because 15th century Balkan politics were a messTM.

Now, Vlad Dracul hadn’t been born with the name Dracul but had taken it after being indicted into the Order of the Dragon (Dracul=Dragon in Romanian). The Order of the Dragon was a Holy order of nobles founded to fight the enemies of Christendom - particularly the Ottoman Empire - and by taking the name Dracul Vlad proudly proclaimed himself as a member of this order. His sons, Radu and his two older brothers Vlad (later to be remembered as Vlad the Impaler) and Mircea, were consequently called Dracula meaning ‘Son of the Dragon’.

So, Radu’s early years were spent as a young Christian prince of a rather volatile country. However, Radu did not spend long in his Romanian homeland as by 1444 he, and his older brother Vlad, had been sent to the Ottoman court of Sultan Murad II as hostages.

The ruins of the Fortress of Eğrigöz in north-western Anatolia where Radu and Vlad spent their first few years as hostages before being relocated to the Ottoman capital at Edirne.

As hostages, the brothers were meant to ensure the loyalty of their father to the Ottoman Sultan and stop him from teaming up with Hungary in anti-Ottoman crusades under the threat that Sultan Murad would execute the boys. However, this did not stop Dracul from quickly betraying the Ottomans and assuming his sons dead (after all he still had his eldest son, Mircea, so Vlad and Radu weren’t that important).[1]

But luckily for Vlad and Radu, Murad had other reasons for keeping the boys alive. Through education and indoctrination he planned to raise the boys as good, loyal - and legitimate - future rulers of Wallachia.[2]

As a result the boys were well treated and educated by the finest tutors available, in logic, the Qu’ran, languages, horse riding, battle – all the necessary skills for great future rulers.

How Radu experienced these years in the Ottoman court is unclear. The general consensus is that whilst Vlad was just straight up not having a good time (often being whipped or beaten for being a bad student), Radu was more adaptive - but the consensus stops there. Depending on who you ask you might be told that he “was a compromiser, consumed by the pleasures of the palace” [3], a victim of Stockholm syndrome and “a weakling and a voluptuary, famous for his beauty” [4]. But others will say that he was an intelligent young man with both military and political promise.

However, a key part of his story that is often repeated, is that he was very good looking hence his nickname “cel Frumos” meaning “the beautiful” in Romanian. He attracted many admirers both male and female. Among them was Murad’s son, the future Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. Although they had a rough start (their first kiss involved Radu stabbing Mehmed and then hiding up a tree) the two became very close and thanks to this relationship Radu gained much power at the court.[5]

Meanwhile, his relationship with his brother deteriorated and the two developed an intense hatred.[6]

At the end of 1447 the news reached the brothers that their father, Dracul, had been killed and their older brother, Mircea, had been buried alive by the Hungarians.[7] It was now time for Vlad, as the eldest, to take the Wallachian throne under the support of the Ottoman Sultan.

As Vlad left the palace of Edirne for Wallachia it would be more than a decade before he saw his younger brother again. And then it would be on the battlefield…

During this time Murad died and Mehmed took the Ottoman throne in 1451. Radu became a prominent figure in the Ottoman court, converted to Islam and played an important role in Mehmed’s conquest of Constantinople (maybe).[8]

However, his life at the Ottoman court ended in 1461 when Vlad (now Voivode of Wallachia) began actively rebelling against the Ottomans. Mehmed, who was busy trying to become the next Alexander the Great, did not have time for this. What he did have, was a perfect replacement for Vlad in the loyal Radu.

So, in Summer 1462 Radu and Mehmed crossed the Danube with 35,000 Ottoman soldiers against Vlad’s meagre 7-8,000.[9] Despite Vlad’s vicious scorched earth tactics and daring night attacks he stood no chance against the superior Ottoman forces and was forced to flee north. When Radu and Mehmed reached the Wallachian capital of Tărgovişte Vlad was long gone but had left a grisly gift that would earn him his nickname Ţepeş – the Impaler. Along the road to Tărgovişte he had planted a forest of impaled Ottoman soldiers that stretched for kilometres…[10]

A Saxon woodcut (c.1499) of Vlad enjoying a meal with some new garden ornaments. Despite the fact he definitely did impale people it’s worth remembering that a lot of the Saxon publications about him were essentially propaganda so take the image with a grain of salt.

Despite this horror, Radu took his place on the throne as Voivode Radu III. He ruled Wallachia for eleven years and by 15th century Balkans standards it was almost peaceful. Although he was supported by the Ottomans he managed to win the respect of the local Wallachian boyars (nobles) and maintain peace with Hungary (the other big regional power). However, his real trouble was with the third Romanian state – Moldavia - where Stephen the Great had come to the throne and was wanting to assert his dominance over the region. Stephen did not like Radu, mostly because of his pro-Turkish stance. In 1465 Stephen took control of the previously Wallachian port city of Chilia. There was a period of relative peace but then from 1470 onwards Radu and Stephen became engaged in a serious of border wars that ended with Stephen defeating Radu on November 18-20th 1473. Stephen marched into the Wallachia capital ready to place his own guy, Basarab Laoită, on the throne and Radu, like his brother before him (minus the forest of impaled people), was forced to flee the city leaving all his treasure, effects, clothing, wife and daughter behind.

Three weeks later Radu returned with Ottoman reinforcements and retook his throne (also his wife and daughter). Over the next year the throne continued to alternate between Basarab backed by Stepehn and Radu backed by the Ottomans until January 1475 when Radu was dethroned for the final time, presumably dying sometime soon after.[11]

The details are unknown but there are three main theories as to what caused his death and sudden absence from the historical record:

a) He was executed by Stephen the Great who was sick of having to dethrone him.[12]

b) He died of syphilis, “unloved and unmourned”[13]

c) He became a vampire[14]

My bets are on c)

The story of Radu is a good one. However, it’s also built on a lot of assumptions and blatant falsities that have been spread by academic and popular writers alike. Finding “The Truth” of Radu’s life necessitates a return to primary sources. But, how much of person can we really construct from a smattering of 15th century writings? And how much will we never know?

For answers to these questions and more keep an eye on this page...

References

[1] Davin Nicolle, Cross & Crescent in the Balkans: The Ottoman Conquest of Southeastern Europe. (Great Britain: Pen & Sword Military, 2010), 153.

[2] M. J. Trow, Vlad the Impaler: In Search of the Real Dracula. (United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2003), 140.

[3] Romano, Will. ‘Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks’. Military History; Herndon, October 2003.

[4] Franz Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1978), 207.

[5] Ibid.; Will Romano, “Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks,” Military History, October 2003.; James Waterson, Dracula’s Wars: Vlad the Impaler and His Rivals. (Gloucestershire: The History Press, 2016) 111.; Radu R. Florescu and Raymond T. McNally. Dracula: Prince of Many Faces. (Boston, United States: Little, Brown and Company, 1989), 56.; Masson, Gemma Masson, “Dracula and the Ottomans,” Womenareboring, 15 March 2018. https://womenareboring.wordpress.com/2018/03/15/4286/.; Shibli Zaman, “How the Muslims killed Dracula.” Worldbulletin, 31 July 2013, https://www.worldbulletin.net/historical-events/how-the-muslims-killed-dracula-h114250.html.

[6] Dion Overtoun, “Radu Cel Frumos: The Queer Brother Nobody Cares Dracula Had,” Frightful/Filthy: The Writing of Dion Overtoun, 28 June 2017, https://dionovertoun.com/2017/06/28/radu-the-queer-brother-nobody-cares-dracula-had/.; Zaman, “How the Muslims killed Dracula.”; Florescu and McNally, Dracula: Prince of Many Faces, 59.

[7] Waterson, Dracula’s Wars, 111.; Florescu and McNally, Dracula: Prince of Many Faces, 56. ; Zaman, “How the Muslims killed Dracula.”; “Radu Cel Frumos,” Project Gutenberg, Acessed 30 September 2019, http://www.self.gutenberg.org/articles/Radu_cel_Frumos.

[8] Matei Cazacu, Dracula. (Boston: Brill, 2011), 51.

[9] Kent, Jasper. The Last Rite: (The Danilov Quintet 5). Random House, 2014.; Zaman, “How the Muslims killed Dracula.”; Masson, “Dracula and the Ottomans.”; Trow, Vlad the Impaler, 139.; “Radu Cel Frumos,” Wikipedia, Accessed 8 October 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radu_cel_Frumos&oldid=920222947. ; Philippe Lemaire, “Recherches sur le vampire,” Site de Philippe Lemaire, auteur de fantastique, Accessed 30 September 2019, https://sites.google.com/site/philip63lemaire/recherches-sur-le-vampire.; “Radu Cel Frumos.” ; Elest Ali, “Is “Dracula Untold” An Islamophobic Movie?” The New Republic, 25 October 2014, https://newrepublic.com/article/119991/dracula-untold-islamophobic.; Beyaz Arif Akbas, “Kim Bu Güzel Radu?” Milliyet Blog, Accessed 9 October 2019, http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/kim-bu-guzel-radu-/Blog/?BlogNo=402166.

[10] For a detailed explanation of the numbers involved in this campaign see - Adrian Gheorghe, “Understanding the Ottoman Campaign in Wallachia in the Summer of 1462. Numbers, Limits, Manoeuvres and Meanings,” in Vlad Der Pfähler – Dracula Tyrann Oder Volkstribun?, ed. Thomas Bohn (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2017), 11.

[11] Ibid, 30.;

[12] Franz Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1978), 339.; Tasin Gemil, Romanians and Ottomans in the XIVth to the XVIth Centuries, (Bucharest: Editura Enciclopedicã, 2009), 203.; Jonathan Eagles, “The Reign, Culture and Legacy of Ştefan Cel Mare, Voivode of Moldova: A Case Study of Ethnosymbolism in the Romanian Societies,” (University College London, 2011), 13.; Liviu Pilat and Ovidiu Cristea, The Ottoman Threat and Crusading on the Eastern Border of Christendom During the 15th Century. (Boston, United States: Brill, 2017), 143 – 145.

[13] Kurt W. Treptow, Vlad III Dracula The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula, (Oxford: The Center for Romanian Studies, 2000), 159.

[14] Trow, Vlad the Impaler, 208.; Waterson Dracula’s Wars, 184.

[15] Lemaire, “Recherches sur le Vampire.”

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mermaidsirennikita · 7 years ago

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October 2018 Book Roundup

This was maybe my weakest reading month this year, in terms of quantity--but it picked up towards the end! There were good books and meh books, but Anna-Marie McLemore’s Blanca and Roja was wonderful. If you haven’t tried any of her books--please do. This one was a beautiful fairy tale retelling full of magical realism and romance, while featuring LGBT+ and disabled characters. One of the best books I’ve read all year.

Siracusa by Delia Ephron. 2/5. A pair of married couples go on an Italian vacation together, where their internal strife builds to a boiling point. This is like... plot-wise, pretty much what you expect. But I’m fine with “expected” domestic thrillers... yet I hated this. The prose itself wasn’t bad, and there were themes that I enjoyed. But the male characters were the types of male characters where most of their pagetime is devoted to how much they hate women and how much they love tits, and that’s so boring. The women were more interesting, but why bother at that point?

Sadie by Courtney Summers. 4/5. After thirteen-year-old Mattie is found murdered, her sister--and caretaker in the wake of their drug addicted mother’s absence--Sadie goes missing. After their cases capture the attention of radio personality West McCray, Sadie and Mattie become the focus of a podcast, “The Girls”. As the podcast unfolds and West struggles to piece together the girls’ pasts and what drove Sadie’s disappearance, the story also follows Sadie’s journey, and the ghosts that haunt her. This is a sad one. Very sad. If you’re easily triggered, I recommend steering clear because the worst part about Sadie’s life is not the brutality we see, but the reality of what we know has happened. Summers is very restrained, and the horrid things that happen are not graphic, but... we know. Sadie’s love for her sister was extremely relatable for me as a reader--I’m the oldest of four, and my youngest sibling is a good bit younger than the rest of us, much like Mattie was a good bit younger than Sadie. It was a rough read, but very well-written. The ending didn’t really pack the punch I hoped for, but perhaps that was the point. Some stories don’t get to be wrapped up the way we want them to be.

The Corset by Laura Purcell. 4/5. In 19th century England, the privileged Dorothea visits women’s prisons, her interest in phrenology fueling her desire to examine the skulls of murderesses and uncover what makes them tick. Sixteen-year-old Ruth Butterham, about to go to trial for killing her mistress, sticks out for her youth and her plain simplicity. Yet she insists that she killed the lady of the house--with just her needle and thread. As Ruth tells Dorothea her tale, Dorothea begins to question her solid views on the nature of evil--and takes a second glance at those surrounding her. I love that Laura Purcell is giving us these Victorian chiller novels. Her writing style, her sense of description, gives everything a horrifying creepiness even when the gore isn’t on full display. (Though plenty of awful things happen in full view in The Corset, it isn’t quite as lurid as The Silent Companions.) There is a ton of tragedy in The Corset, and a lot of ambiguity in its ending. A bit more ambiguity than I’d like, to be honest? It didn’t pack quite the punch I think the rest of the story deserved. But it was still great, and I’d recommend Purcell to anyone--especially if you’re looking for spooky reads.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White. 2/5. Frankenstein retold from the perspective of Elizabeth Lavenza, Victor’s foster sister and eventual wife. I wasn’t going to pick this up--but then I realized that Kiersten White wrote The Conqueror’s Saga, one of my favorite series ever. I just should have stuck with my gut. White writes well, but the first half of the book is sloooooow (where’s Victor + flashbacks basically sums it up) and because I was so bored, I couldn’t get invested in Elizabeth and Victor’s relationship. The toxicity of their borderline incestuous bond is really supposed to make this a great “mad love” kind of story. But no. You never even really get the sense that they were physically attracted to each other. And White should be able to do this well. One of the centerpieces of The Conqueror’s Saga was the love triangle between Lada, Radu, and Mehmed--and how Radu and Lada were both very drawn to Mehmed while loathing him. I think she got kind of caught up in the “fix it fic” aspects of a retelling, which--just don’t go there. I get it. Mary Shelley was amazing, but also a woman of her time who wrote a book in which the (somewhat) significant female characters get treated like garbage. Victor Frankenstein is The Worst. But everything was so transparent; you knew where the story was going at all times, and not because it was a retelling but because you knew EXACTLY where it would deviate. And the ending? RAAAAGE. Just a missed opportunity.

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke. 2/5. Frey is one of the Boneless Mercies, women whose trade is death. She and her group deliver mercy killings upon request--and she’s tired of it. In order to break out of her role as a Mercy, Frey persuades her band to pursue a mysterious beast, embarking on a perilous journey that will endanger all of their lives. Tucholke’s prose is beautiful. Her idea here was amazing--a sort of take of Beowulf with women (and one guy, who was not at all what you’d expect). She was obviously inspired by Norse mythology, and the overall world and cultures presented are so compelling. The story? Is a lot of journeying. It’s very slow. I couldn’t get into it, no matter how hard I tried. It was really disappointing because so many components of this I loved, but the pacing just dragged and it seemed like the story was a stream of events via a road trip, which can be awesome but... the characters just didn’t play off of each other in a way that made me care. I’m not sure about how much of this was even the book, and how much was me not connecting with it--but is that my fault? I’m just left frustrated.

Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore. 5/5. Blanca and Roja del Cisne are a part of a family with a terrible curse. The del Cisnes always have daughters--at least two. And one of those daughters is always taken by the swans and absorbed into their ranks. Blanca, sweet and light, and Roja, aggressive and resentful, have long worked to attempt to up-end the odds, neither one wanting to let go of the other. But the magic that controls the woods extends beyond the sisters’ curse, bringing two boys into Blanca and Roja’s predicament, and complicating their fates even further. This is McLemore at her best. The writing is beautiful, the romances are fantastic, the relationship between Blanca and Roja is heartbreaking and frustrating and everything it should be. McLemore also excels at writing authentic magical realism, pulling from her own experiences as a Latinx woman and injecting it into the lives of the del Cisne women. And as an added bonus, Page, Blanca’s love interest, is a nonbinary trans boy who uses varied pronouns and this is actually discussed on-page; and Barclay, Roja’s love interest, is adjusting to the loss of sight in one eye, and is a survivor of abuse. McLemore is so careful about how she treats these issues, without ever seeming preachy. This is a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red, one of my favorite fairy tales--and it’s my favorite McLemore book so far.

#books #book recs #reading roundup #book roundup

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weloveperioddrama · 7 years ago

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Spring is approaching, and to celebrate the new season, like we did in the winter, we have put together a list with all the period dramas that are coming up the next few months, and a little bit of information about them, so we can offer a remainder and a recap of what is to come!

And, as always, to keep an eye to period dramas in general, remember you can always check this page: period dramas 2018

We hope this list is helpful! What period dramas are you excited about? :)

(In this list we will list both shows and movies with a confirmed release date, as well as period dramas that are rumoured or expected to be released during the spring, for the sake of completeness and so you can keep an eye on those you are interested in. Please, do excuse us if the schedule changes and a show is moved to later in the year.)

THE AMERICANS (tv show)

What: the final season of this show about two Russian agents posing as a normal American family during the last stages of the Cold War will introduce a three-year time jump in which will move the action to 1987.

When: March 28th

Where: FX (US)

FIRST LOOK / IMDB

LA CATEDRAL DEL MAR (miniseries)

What: set in 14th century Barcelona, at the height of the Inquisition, with the construction of Santa Maria del Mar serving as background, it tells the story of Arnau Estanyol, the son of a fugitive serf who obtains freedom and eventually achieves a high status.

When: it hasn’t been confirmed, but it’s expected to air before summer

Where: Antena 3 (Spain) and, afterwards, Netflix (worldwide)

TRAILER / IMDB

THE DURRELLS (tv show)

What: the third season of this show, that follows the life of the Englishwoman Louisa Durrell, whose life had fallen apart, decided to move from Bournemouth to the Greek island of Corfu. Her husband had died some years earlier and she has financial problems, when she suddenly announces that she and her four children will move to the island and a Homeric battle ensues as the family adapt to life on the island.

When: an exact date hasn’t been set yet, but the show will air on March

Where: ITV (UK)

TRAILER / IMDB

FATIH (tv show)

What: this show, annoounced as the biggest production of Turkish television in 2018, is a historical series that will be based on the life of Sultan Mehmed II, known as Mehmed the Conqueror, who, in 1453 at age 21, conquered Constantinople, putting an end on the Eastern Roman Empire.

When: March 13th

Where: Kanal D (Turkey)

FIRST LOOK / IMDB

GENIUS: PICASSO (tv show)

What: the second season of this anthology telling the life stories of history’s greatest minds series will deal with the live of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, one of the 20th century’s most influential and celebrated artists, who imagined and interpreted the world in totally new and unorthodox ways, reinventing our perception of creativity in the process.

When: April 24th

Where: National Geographic (US)

TRAILER / IMDB

THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY (movie)

What: this adaptation of the book of the same title by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows tells the story of a writer who forms an unexpected bond with the residents of Guernsey Island in the aftermath of World War II when she decides to write a book about their experiences during the war.

When: April 20th (UK) ; check the dates for all countries here

TRAILER / IMDB

THE HAPPY PRINCE (movie)

What: this movie tells the untold story of the last days in the tragic times of Oscar Wilde, a person who observes his own failure with ironic distance and regards the difficulties that beset his life with detachment and humor.

When: May 24th (Germany) ; check the dates for all countries here

FIRST LOOK / IMDB

HARLOTS (tv show)

What: the second season of this show that follows the life of Margaret Wells struggles to reconcile her roles as brothel owner and mother to her daughters. When her business comes under attack from a rival madam with a ruthless streak, Margaret must fight back even if it means losing her family and possibly her life.

When: a date hasn’t been set as of yet, but there are some rumours that point to it airing in the spring

Where: Hulu (US) and ITV (UK)

FIRST LOOK / IMDB

ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE (miniseries)

What: this minieries, based on Agatha Christie’s novel, tells the story of Jacko Argyle who, while serving a sentence for killing Rachel Argyle, his adoptive mother – a crime he insisted he didn’t commit – dies in prison. His own widow, Maureen, believed him to have been responsible. Two years later, Jacko’s alibi suddenly turns up and the family must come to terms not only with the fact that Jacko was actually innocent, but that one of them is the real murderer, and now suspicion falls upon each of them. Christie’s focus in this novel is upon the psychology of innocence, as family members struggle with their suspicions of one another.

When: it was originally scheduled to air during Christmas 2017, but it got pull out after several accusations of sexual abuse were made against Ed Westwick. BBC eliminated him from the production and recast his role with Christian Cooke, who reshot the scenes on January. A new date hasn’t been set yet, but it’s possible the miniseries airs before the 2017/2018 season is over

Where: BBC (UK)

IMDB

ORGULHO E PAIXÃO (tv show)

What: this show will offer a new look on Jane Austen’s universe, with a plot loosely based on Pride and Prejudice, and including a number of characters based on other novels from the author, such as from Sense and Sensibility and Emma.

When: March 20th

Where: Globo (Brazil)

FIRST LOOK

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (miniseries)

What: a new adaptation of Joan Lindsay‘s novel, this miniseries will tell the story of three schoolgirls and their governesses who mysteriously disappear during a picnic at Hanging Rock, Victoria on Valentine’s Day in 1900, and the subsequent effect this disappeareance on the local community.

When: May 6th (Australia)

Where: Foxtel (Australia) and, afterwards, BBC (UK), and Amazon Prime Video (worldwide)

FIRST LOOK / IMDB

THE TERROR (tv show)

What: this show, based on the novel of the same title by Dan Simmons, is a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to the Arctic, in 1845–1848, to force the Northwest Passage.

When: March 26th

Where: AMC (US) and, afterwards, Amazon Prime Video (worldwide)

TRAILER / IMDB

THE SEAGULL (movie)

What: based on Anton Chekhov’s play, this movie tells the story of an aging actress named Irina Arkidana pays summer visits to her brother Pjotr Nikolayevich Sorin and her son Konstantin on a country estate. On one occasion, she brings Trigorin, a successful novelist, with her. Nina, a free and innocent girl on a neighboring estate, falls in love with Boris Trigorin. As Trigorin lightly consumes and rejects Nina, so the actress all her life has consumed and rejected her son, who loves Nina.

When: May 11th (US) ; check the dates for all countries here

FIRST LOOK / IMDB

SILENT LIFE (movie)

What: a movie that tells the story of Rudolph Valentino who, while on tour promoting his latest movie Son Of The Sheik, the Hollywood silent screen icon, suffers a sudden collapse and is hospitalized at the New York Polyclinic Hospital. After an emergency surgery, Valentino loses his grip on reality and, while hallucinating, reexperiences his life in Hollywood from - as a silent film shown at a movie palace, the magical portal between life and eternity, between reality and illusion.

When: May 6th (US) ; check the dates for all countries here

IMDB

VANITY FAIR (miniseries)

What: this new adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel, is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, and follows Sharp as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and scale the heights of English Society. Her story of villainy, crime, merriment, lovemaking, jilting, laughing, cheating, fighting and dancing, takes her all the way to the court of King George IV, via the Battle of Waterloo, breaking hearts and losing fortunes along the way.

When: a date hasn’t been set yet, but it’s rumoured to be released in spring

Where: ITV (UK) and, afterwards, Amazon Prime Video (worldwide)

FIRST LOOK / IMDB

VERSAILLES (tv show)

What: the third season of this show, that follows the life of the king of France, Louis XIV, and his court, full of affairs and political intrigues.

When: a date hasn’t been confirmed as of yet, but the first episodes will be screened on Cannes International Series Festival on April 6th, and it’s rumoured to air in France soon after that

Where: Canal + (France) and, afterwards, Netflix (worldwide)

IMDB

OTHER DATES

A number of shows that have already aired in some countries will premiere worldwide in streaming services or, in the case of co-productions, in a second nework. Here’s a brief list of the ones being released on the spring:

The Alienist: will be released on Netflix on April 19th TRAILER / IMDB

Howards End: will premiere on Starz on April 18th TRAILER / IMDB

Little Women: will air on PBS on May 13th TRAILER / IMDB

Troy: Fall of a City: will be released on Netflix after it ends its run on BBC (April 7th) TRAILER / IMDB

#news #upcoming period dramas #admin post

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