'The Wager: a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder' by David Grann

 The Wager: a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder,  David Grann (4.5)

One of the most shocking things to me about this book is that those who survived the horrific circumstances of this experience on sea wanted to go back on a ship after returning to Britain! We are talking about people who experienced starvation, scurvy, being stranded, prison, and more. This is the fascinating story of a British armada sent to engage and loot a Spanish galleon somewhere around the Drake Passage at the bottom of South America. The author has assembled the history of one ship, the Wager, based on journals and accounts from those on board. The harrowing events make this a relatively difficult book to read, but it moves quickly enough to be riveting.

'The Poppy War' by R. F. Kuang

 The Poppy War, R. F. Kuang (3.0)

I was a bit disappointed with this book, given how well this has been rated by many people. The premise was familiar: an orphan fights to get into a special school where they are ridiculed, unfamiliar with the basics but ultimately are the most special of students. The magic of the book is unique – with some having the ability access the power of ‘gods’. But the plot parallels the history of the Japanese invasions of China with the stereotypes intact. I found myself less interested after the students graduate and go to war. The fighting was continuous, brutal and hard to follow on the macro-scale. I was pleased that the author didn’t go the way of R. Yarros with copious amounts of sex thrown into the story, but I doubt I’ll read parts II and III.