Comments on: 1985 - The Spanish Gambit http://www.stephenhunter.net/books/1985-the-spanish-gambit/ Comment on Hunter\'s Books Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:18:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Pancho http://www.stephenhunter.net/books/1985-the-spanish-gambit/#comment-1375 Pancho Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:40:02 +0000 http://www.stephenhunter.net/books/?p=7#comment-1375 Whenever I hear of George Orwell I am thrilled. What a man ahead of his times! Even his well anthologized "death of an elephant" has a depth of meaning for my students, most of the third world. His internal conflict, his comments on empire ring so tru today. Whenever I hear of George Orwell I am thrilled. What a man ahead of his times! Even his well anthologized “death of an elephant” has a depth of meaning for my students, most of the third world. His internal conflict, his comments on empire ring so tru today.

]]> By: thehip http://www.stephenhunter.net/books/1985-the-spanish-gambit/#comment-79 thehip Thu, 08 Feb 2007 22:18:21 +0000 http://www.stephenhunter.net/books/?p=7#comment-79 This is a heavily researched book (except in the area of chess nomenclature, where APPALLING ignorance is displayed: no one calls the rook a "castle", and although one "queens" a pawn, one does NOT "knight", "bishop", or "rook" [or "castle"] a pawn; clearly Hunter doesn't play the game) and a quite well-written one. He's drawn on "Homage to Catalonia" by George Orwell, even to the extent of (I believe) quoting it once or twice. Plus the protagonist has the same name (except for a doubled "r") as the protagonist of "Burmese Days", Orwell's first novel (Robert Flo[r]y). Inside jokes? This and "Point of Impact" are well worth setting aside a day to read. Be warned -- once you start, you won't stop! This is a heavily researched book (except in the area of chess nomenclature, where APPALLING ignorance is displayed: no one calls the rook a “castle”, and although one “queens” a pawn, one does NOT “knight”, “bishop”, or “rook” [or "castle"] a pawn; clearly Hunter doesn’t play the game) and a quite well-written one. He’s drawn on “Homage to Catalonia” by George Orwell, even to the extent of (I believe) quoting it once or twice. Plus the protagonist has the same name (except for a doubled “r”) as the protagonist of “Burmese Days”, Orwell’s first novel (Robert Flo[r]y). Inside jokes?

This and “Point of Impact” are well worth setting aside a day to read. Be warned — once you start, you won’t stop!

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