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Debra Hamel is the author of a number of books about ancient Greece. She writes and blogs from her subterranean lair in North Haven, CT. Read more.

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Updated 11-26-24. [Reviews are longer and have ratings. Notices do not have ratings.]

Books by Debra Hamel:

THE BATTLE OF ARGINUSAE :
VICTORY AT SEA AND ITS TRAGIC AFTERMATH IN THE FINAL YEARS OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
By Debra Hamel


Kindle | paperback (US)
Kindle | paperback (UK)

KILLING ERATOSTHENES:
A TRUE CRIME STORY
FROM ANCIENT ATHENS
By Debra Hamel


Kindle | paperback (US)
Kindle | paperback (UK)

READING HERODOTUS:
A GUIDED TOUR THROUGH THE WILD BOARS, DANCING SUITORS, AND CRAZY TYRANTS OF THE HISTORY
By Debra Hamel


paperback | Kindle | hardcover (US)
paperback | hardcover (UK)

THE MUTILATION OF THE HERMS:
UNPACKING AN ANCIENT MYSTERY
By Debra Hamel


Kindle | paperback (US)
Kindle | paperback (UK)

TRYING NEAIRA:
THE TRUE STORY OF A COURTESAN'S SCANDALOUS LIFE IN ANCIENT GREECE
By Debra Hamel


paperback | hardcover (US)
paperback | hardcover (UK)

SOCRATES AT WAR:
THE MILITARY HEROICS OF AN ICONIC INTELLECTUAL
By Debra Hamel


Kindle (US) | Kindle (UK)

ANCIENT GREEKS IN DRAG:
THE LIBERATION OF THEBES AND OTHER ACTS OF HEROIC TRANSVESTISM
By Debra Hamel


Kindle (US) | Kindle (UK)

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY TWEET:
FIVE HUNDRED 1ST LINES IN 140 CHARACTERS OR LESS
By Debra Hamel


Kindle | paperback (US)
Kindle | paperback (UK)

PRISONERS OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
By Debra Hamel


Kindle (US) | Kindle (UK)





Book-blog.com by Debra Hamel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial - No Derivative Works 3.0 License.



Moore, Christopher: Fluke

  Amazon  

3 stars

Christopher Moore's books are all about playful dialogue and weird creatures. They're fun to read. And I really did like aspects of Fluke: a likeable foursome--a marine biologist, a photographer, a faux-Rastafarian, and...Amy--are studying whales off of Hawaii hoping to learn why the mammals sing, and in the process they throw around a lot of witty banter and get themselves in trouble in a big, this-could-lead-to-the-end-of-the-human-race kind of way. I liked the banter part. But the story dragged for me as soon as the weird creature came on the scene. It's not a likeable weird creature, and that's part of the problem. It's the sort of thing you'd want to stomp on with your shoe if its size didn't make that impossible. But also I think the plot dragged once the beastie hove into view. The story became less about the interaction of the principals and more about the biology and history of the creature, which wasn't particularly interesting. So, read it for the dialogue and the interaction, maybe, but if you might be turned off by cetaceous goo and/or living quarters fitted out with more than the usual number of sphincters, maybe give this one a pass.

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