Just Finished Reading: The Darkening Age – The Christian Destruction of the Classical World by Catherine Nixey (FP: 2017) [263pp] 

I have long wondered why so much of the known ancient knowledge has been lost to time. So much of what we do know is presented in fragments or references in other surviving texts. If it wasn't for the texts and commentaries provided by Arabic scholars our knowledge of the ancient world would be sparse indeed. It's estimated that over 80% of ancient texts have not made it to the present. Why is that? 

Part of it is simply time. The roughly 1000 years between the fall of the western Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance was not exactly a period of peace and harmony, so it's no surprise that delicate artifacts such as pre-paper books didn't make it this far. Likewise, art, artifacts and statues... But are time and barbarism enough of an explanation? This intriguing (and to be honest disturbing) book shows us otherwise. After the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made that belief the default religion of the Roman Empire there was a growing movement not only to promote Christianity itself but to supress ALL other religions and beliefs as both false and dangerous. Some of the effects were obvious such as the ban on professing public belief in the 'old Gods' including sacrifice at the numerous temples. Before long these very temples were closed and eventually destroyed including any statues of the gods. Likewise, as temples often held numerous texts and documents, such items were all too often burnt by the wagonload. It wasn't long before well-known pagans were targeted and given the 'choice' between conversion, exile or death. The one choice few had, however, was the retention of heretical or demonic texts by pagan authors. These had to be given up and destroyed in public. As you can imagine few survived. 

But it wasn't just targeted destruction of especially books that resulted in so few surviving. It was often simple neglect. Books, of all types, don't last forever. They need to be looked after, cared for, preserved. Most importantly at that time they need to be COPIED to be passed on to future generations. Leave them to rot, use them to start fires, refuse to copy them – in fact scrape them clean to produce yet another Biblical commentary – and they are soon lost. Just imagine the thousands of books, the temples that were the wonder of the known world, the art, the statues that were smashed into dust that are gone. Tragic just doesn't cover it. 

This was quite the eye-opener. It its desire to be THE (not just pre-eminent) religion of the time, the new Christian church authorities very effectively eliminated much of their opposition - both secular and sacred - by erasing them from the historical record. It worked. Written with a keen eye for detail and with a scattering of humour this gives a VERY different perspective on the ancient world and is something I'll definitely be following up on. The early years of Christian domination of the Roman Empire were most definitely not a time of rainbows and bunnies for those who held onto their beliefs of the old Gods (who, of course, had been worshiped for centuries or longer). It was increasingly a rough time to be a pagan and could, indeed, be a fatal one. Definitely recommended for those with a curious mind and for those who ever wondered why we don't know MUCH more about our ancient ancestors. 

Erm......

Just Finished Reading: Aliens – Earth Hive by Steve Perry (FP: 1992) [277pp] 

Corporal Wilks had faced them before and lived. He was the closest thing they had to an expert on the Xenomorph. They knew how dangerous they were and, after the loss of another colony something had to be done about their menace – permanently. With their apparent home-world now discovered it was time for payback. Together with hand-picked teams of marines, they were doing to find out as much as they could about the species then nuke them from orbit – it was the only way to make sure. If only things were that simple. Unknown to the marines their commanding officer had other, additional, instructions. He was being paid – handsomely – to bring a xenomorph back, alive, by any means possible. Meanwhile a rival corporation had sent a kill-team to ensure that no one or nothing came back alive. Meanwhile, on Earth itself, a xenomorph queen was under investigation in a Top Security installation, isolated, secure, and in total secrecy... Until it wasn’t.... 

I’ve been meaning to read this set of books for some years now. I managed to pick up a few omnibus editions, and they’ve been sitting in a pile of books slowly turning into coal. As a HUGE fan of the sometimes-questionable franchise I knew that this would, or at least should, push most/all of my buttons. Unfortunately, it didn’t. Potentially it was going to be a good story – a slam dunk even. Colonial marines in full badass mode, LOTS of aliens on their (apparent) home world, BIG fight scenes etc... But some pretty poor writing and a questionable plot got in the way almost immediately. First there was ‘Wilks’ who was obviously a cut/paste Hicks from the Aliens movie – complete with young girl he had rescued from the destroyed colony they had been sent to... Then there was the ridiculous ‘love story’ element between Billie (the now grown-up girl survivor Wilks had rescued) and one of the marines... The fight scenes on the planet had their moments but never really got above average and there were FAR too many ‘callbacks’ to Aliens again. 

I think what made it worse for me (apart from the xenomorphs ‘psychic’ abilities) was the fact that there was a decent – indeed more than decent – story embedded in the barely average one! Whilst Wilks & Co where fighting on an alien world Earth was (slowly and then speedily) being overrun by Xenos. Even the brief bits we get of Terran forces trying to come to terms with that was MUCH better than the main ‘story’. Why the author couldn’t have focused on THAT aspect – especially considering the books bloody TITLE is beyond me. Not really recommended for Aliens or SF fans unless you are a completist. But as I already own the next few books (as well as being an eternal optimist) I will be reading more in the series. Oh, and I’m going to try to read more 21st century SF... Eventually... 

RIP: Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (14 September 1947 – 13 July 2026)

Happy Birthday: Yuliy Borisovich Briner (July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian and American actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical The King and I (1951), for which he won two Tony Awards, and later an Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1956 film adaptation. He played the role 4,625 times on stage, and became known for his shaved head, which he maintained as a personal trademark long after adopting it for The King and I.

Considered one of the first Russian-American film stars, he was honored with a ceremony to put his handprints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in 1956. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

In 1956, Brynner received the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for his portrayals of Rameses II in the Cecil B. DeMille epic The Ten Commandments and General Bounine in Anastasia. He was also well known as the gunman Chris Adams in The Magnificent Seven (1960) and its first sequel, Return of the Seven (1966). He had roles as the android "The Gunslinger" in Westworld (1973) and its sequel Futureworld (1976).

In addition to his film credits, he worked as a model and photographer, and wrote several books.

[One of my all-time favourite actors who starred in two of my all-time favourite films - The Magnificent 7 and Westworld.]