Susanna Clarke spent over a decade writing her debut novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. She could have spent twice as long and not a moment of her time would have been wasted, nor could she have achieved anything more splendid and unique. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a fantastic novel, and one of the finest works of fantasy ever written.

Neil Gaiman, British author of many fine fantasies, wrote of the novel:

‘Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years.

Indeed, it is my personal opinion that no other fantasy has reached quite the same literary heights as Clarke’s Jonathan Strange. It is a dark, rich tale of an England infused with a mystery and magic that is at once terrifying and beautiful. Clarke’s characters are complicated and their motives are often all too human. Where many of Clarke’s contemporaries fail, in their often black and white portrayal of the forces of good and evil, Clarke’s tale is a resounding victory.

This is not an easy book. It challenges you at every turn. Early notions about one character or another will most certainly be in question as you delve further into the story.

But what truly makes this book a startling read is the quality of its mystery. One begins the narrative knowing very little, and as it presses on one finds themselves knowing even less. Every new revelation brings about a new series of questions. The mystery extends beyond the reader, however. Each character is a mystery to all the others.

Set during the Napoleonic Wars, Jonathan Strange unravels around such historical figures as the Duke of Wellington and Mad King George. But it is the characters of Jonathan Strange (the apprentice), Mr. Norrell (the hoarder of books) Stephen Black (the Butler), and the Man with the Thistle Down Hair (a faerie) that make this book so utterly absorbing. The mix of Victorian intrigue and dark fantasy make Jonathan Strange easily the most unique fantasy I have ever had the pleasure to read.

Now Susanna Clarke has published a new book of short stories, The Ladies of Grace Adieu which lets us hungry readers revisit the magical England of the Raven King and his Faerie host.

The only regret any of you may have upon reading this masterpiece is that no other fantasy will ever feel the same afterward. Truly, for the fantasy lover, Jonathan Strange is a life-changing book. But I think that’s a good thing.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell can be purchased at Amazon.

So can The Ladies of Grace Adieu.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

• by Susanna Clarke
• 800 pages
• Bloomsbury USA (September 8, 2004)
• ISBN-10: 1582344167

Michael A. Minton’s sprawling anthology, Mr. Right Opinion: Unplugged and Unashamed, touches on just about every topic important to the Conservative Movement from Family Values and Immigration issues, to the plight of Israel in the face of continual terrorism.

Mr. Minton has collected 137 articles from his blog, Mr. Right Opinion, and is publishing them in the anthology Unplugged and Unashamed from Author House (a self-publishing outfit based out of Indiana).

I found Minton’s insights into the Israeli/Palestine conflict to be dead-on. His support of the Zionist movement is a reminder to all Americans that Republicans are consistently stronger supporters of the Zionist cause than Democrats. Islamism is given the hard-look it deserves, and Minton pulls no punches in his critique of the extremists who are leading that religion down the dark path of violence and radicalism.

Domestic affairs are the primary focus of Minton’s essays, however. The failures of welfare to fix the problem of poverty is discussed at great length, shedding much needed light on that tax quagmire.

While not everything in Unplugged and Unashamed is endorsed by this reviewer, Minton undoubtedly brings into focus the major issues confronting America and especially the Conservative Movement in America today. His knowledge of the topics is quite broad, and his insights are clear, concise, and to the point.

Mr. Right Opinion is unashamedly Right Wing, and unabashedly outspoken in its denouncement of the Left, its failed social policies, and the future course of America.

Author Bio:

Michael A. Minton got his start in politics at the ripe old age of six, when his father, G. Terry Minton, ran for Alderman in Louisville, KY. “Mike” has worked with campaigns to elect (well, naturally his dad), former Rep. Anne Northup, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and most recently with the Romney for president campaign.

Mike got his start in his writing career as a freelance reporter for Talon News Service, and has since gone on to create his own news/opinion blog, Mr. Right Opinion, http://mrrightopinion.blogstream.com/. He has been published in a number of online and print publications, to include: Lincoln Heritage Institute, Men’s News Daily, Rightnation.us, VDARE.com, Hawaii Reporter, Jefferson Review, fixmyhealthcare.com, CivilHomelandDefense.us, The Pioneer News, and others.

Mike is a member of Providence Baptist Church in Brooks, KY, a single father of two daughters, an amateur genealogist, and has been involved in acting, most recently appearing in Camelot at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville in 2005.

You can purchase Mr. Minton’s book here. He also hopes to sell a few copies at the Republican National Convention this year.

You can also listen to an interview on Blog Talk Radio with Mr. Minton here.

The Secret History of the CIA by Joseph J. Trento

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Prima Lifestyles; 1st edition (October 23, 2001)
• ISBN: 978-0761525622

The Secret History of the CIA by Joseph J Trento is a revealing look at the origin of the Central Intelligence Agency, and its evolution over the years. Joseph J Trento presents the CIA as an organization full of corruption, self-serving bureaucracy, and an almost cultural denial of the facts.

The picture Trento paints of the CIA is a bleak one. After World War II, the CIA was formed almost behind the back of President Truman, as former intelligence agents from World War II continued their covert operations without the government’s permission. Truman eventually relented and the CIA was born as an official government agency.

Almost from the beginning, the Soviets penetrated the CIA, operating as double agents and spies for decades, through the Cold War and beyond. The CIA itself is presented as almost incapable of recruiting their own agents–those they do recruit are almost universally revealed as double agents working for one arm of the Soviet government or another.

The most fascinating parts of the book, however, are the revelations about the CIA’s recruitment of Nazi war criminals after the end of WWII; the disturbing facts surrounding the Kennedy brothers (who Lyndon B. Johnson dubbed Murder Inc.) as well as the Soviet-sponsored assassination of J.F.K. which was certainly an eye-opener for me. I won’t give away too much, here. Suffice to say, it is a tale of Byzantine complexity, involving the Soviet coup against Khrushchev; the failed CIA assassination attempts ordered by J.F.K and his brother against Fidel Castro; and one Lee Harvey Oswald of questionable loyalties and even more questionable history.

After reading this section of the book, you will never be able to watch another Oliver Stone movie again–his butchering of the J.F.K. assassination is laughable at best.

Trento follows the secret documents of the CIA and KGB up to near-present days, chronicling the failures of various individuals within the ranks of the CIA, as well as the organization itself.

It is a highly captivating read–and while one should never accept the opinions or biases of one historian, or one history, it is as informative a glimpse at our Nation’s intelligence fiascos as any I have read. It is a complicated narrative, with a vast cast of historical figures, whose loyalties are never black and white, and whose qualities are more often than not their fatal flaws as well. This dynamism gives the book a depth rarely found even in fiction.

I highly recommend the book to anyone with some time to spare, and curiosity to match. You won’t regret the hours spent, or the sleep lost, reading it to the very end.

The Secret History of the CIA can be purchased at Amazon.com