Cameron Dryden

Climate SciFi with a Heart

Revisado: 03-15-23

Kept me on the edge of my seat! The twenty-something protagonists start out with so much hurt and loss, and deal with high stakes and powerful antagonists. You’ll like it if you appreciate nature, bees, longing, love, and personal growth written with beauty and heart.

THE LAST BEEKEEPER also has some amazing lines. Similar to PARABLE OF THE SOWER: “The truth flowed like honey, easy and slow. She couldn’t take it back. She didn’t want to.” Similar to THE GRAPES OF WRATH: “They had failed the land, and now, beyond her small bit of earth, the land was failing them… The Agri New Deal served the few and broke the many.” And the narrator, Dylan Moore, doesn’t disappoint, delivering lines with nuance and aplomb, as appropriate. Nicely done.

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No Ice Story Like It

Revisado: 01-27-23

I don't know of any ice trek story that's been written quite like this! Poetic prose. Danger at every turn, even at home. Plot thick with twists and turns. But where Terra Nova really shines is by taking us into the characters' heads deeper than even favorites like INTO THIN AIR and INTO THE WILD. Add in a woman at home coming into her own as a suffragette and numerous twists and turns, and you won't put it down. Finally, the male and female narrators do a tremendous job sweeping you into the British worldview. Loved it.

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What an amazing performance!

Revisado: 01-16-23

Bringing to life the story of a black Moroccan Muslim, enslaved by Spaniards, and brought to the New World to subjugate natives in an ill-fated search for gold was more illuminating than I could have imagined. The narrator is unsurpassed, voicing dozens of characters with English, Spanish, Arabic, and native dialects. I’ve never heard a single narrator cover such disparate terrain. What an experience!

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Amazing novel, not my cup of tea

Revisado: 01-01-23

Amazing language, poignant, tragic, and I learned lots about a difficult Vietnamese-American experience. On the other hand, I didn’t like several graphic sex scenes. But from a craft perspective, this is arguably one of the best books ever written, IMHO.

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Really made me think

Revisado: 08-21-21

Unravels the mysteries about the parents and grandparents Eve never knew, showcasing juke joints, numbers runners, northern ghettos, and civil rights marches. The author put me in the heads of characters as they discovered some friends & family are LGBTQ, or that people they thought were good or bad did quite the reverse. Made me appreciate different perspectives. I loved Janina Edwards’ southern dialects! Author’s style is reminiscent of Toni Morrison & Alice Walker.

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Truly an Experience

Revisado: 06-14-21

This is a truly astonishing and heart-wrenching memoir of a young woman who loses her dad—himself founder of a group home and a food lover—and then starts teaching troubled boys at the home how to cook, eat, and be a family. The author does a stunning job of narration, her voice starting to crack at parts where I wanted to cry, yet elevated during the laugh-out-loud funny parts. I’ve never seen such an amazing window into the lives of children in the foster care system. Can’t recommend this highly enough.

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It's Alive!

Revisado: 05-18-18

In the movie based on the book by another Mary--Mary Shelley--Dr. Frankenstein screams with joy at his creation coming to life. In SPQR, Mary Beard brings what could have been dead Roman history to life. Spanning 63 BCE to 212 CE, the novel gives context to who the Romans were and how they were formed, including not only emperors, senators, patricians and citizens, but slaves and freedmen as well.

Ms. Beard's 38-page chapter titled, "The Haves and Have-Nots" is, in my opinion, worth the price of admission. The vast majority of histories in these early centuries came from the hands of the ridiculously wealthy (Seneca, the philosopher, was so wealthy that recalling his personal loan to Britain helped foment Boudicca's revolt). Kudos to Ms. Beard for her detective work sussing out the lives of the common people. And the narration by Phyllida Nash is well done.

Thank you, Mary Beard, for that rare gift--bringing history to life.

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Epic (Im)Migration True Story

Revisado: 05-18-18

Wow. This is a book of historical importance, a truly life-defining work.

By chronicling the migration of three African-American families out of the American South, Ms. Wilkerson makes personal and vibrant their life experiences, laying bare their motivations for leaving, as well as their hopes and the actual realities of their new homes. By intertwining contemporary historical events, she also captures the mood and zeitgeist of the times.

I also found the narration impeccable. Robin Miles does a superb job conveying each character.

Superbly done. I see our country, the United States of America, a bit differently now. Thank you.

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Informative / Good Remedy for Fake News

Revisado: 05-18-18

I've been studying Nero for a book in this period that I'm writing. What a refreshing historical novel told from the Emperor's perspective! This book is an admirable attempt to let Nero tell his own story, apart from later accounts demonizing him for political, religious, cultural, or socioeconomic-class-based agendas.

This book is brimming with tremendous amounts of historical information, but Ms. George has written it in a way that keeps the story entertaining. Well done.

I'm placing my pre-order for this novel's sequel, "The Splendor Before the Dark: A Novel of the Emperor Nero", coming out Nov. 6, 2018, immediately!

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Bread & Circus

Revisado: 12-16-17

Wow. The book finished as I entered my driveway coming home from work. I just sat there for several minutes processing this amazing story. The epilogue told how many of the events in the story were recorded by historians, making it that much more poignant.

I started this audiobook just before Thanksgiving. I traditionally cook a secondary meat as an experiment. This year I decided to find an Ancient Roman duck recipe. I googled and found Apicius’s duck with turnips. It took me a minute to realize this was written by this book’s protagonist. Seven store trips later to find all the odd spices, I savored the culinary delights and had newfound appreciation for his love of food.

If you or someone you know loves cooking, is a foodie, studies history, or simply loves a tale well told, RUN, do not walk, to your nearest web browser and buy this.

However, be forewarned: you too could wind up unable to rouse yourself from your car when the bell tolls!

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