Nici's Christmas - Troubadours series (review request)

"Nici's Christmas" is a short story by one of my favorite authors, Jean Gill. She is the reason I created a Hall of Fame here on my blog. This story meets the high standard she has set with the other four Troubadours books. It is the story of Nici's life up to the point where he meet Estela, which is the starting point of the first Troubadours book, "Song at Dawn".

One of the interesting things about this book is that it is both a sequel to the fourth Troubadours book and a prequel to the first. Despite this, there are few spoilers. Estela's real name is one of them and why she is found sleeping in a ditch at the start of the first book is the second one. A third one is part of the conclusion of the fourth book. It is a mild spoiler but a spoiler it remains so if you want to read the series from the start (and you should; Hall of Fame) without any spoilers then save this one for last.

SPOILER WARNING!

Now that this is out of the way I will begin.

What I like most about this story is the sequel/prequel set up. This way we can read a story of conflict, endurance, triumph, fateful decisions etc. but also enjoy the peaceful present. This present is set after "Song Hereafter" and so Estela and Dragonetz are firmly established as the lord and lady of Breyault, happily (officially) married, and raising their son Musca in the company of friends like Giles and Raoulf.

Even Nici has his own happy circumstances; finding a mate and raising up a litter of puppies. One could say he is the Lord of the Pasture because he protects the sheep with assistance of his mate and two of his older offspring. After reading this story, I have decided that he is basically Dragonetz in dog-form. Both of them are noble knights haunted by past failures and whose reputations have been soured by past masters who find redemption through a bond with Estela, which starts, incidentally, through her music.

It is thus little wonder that they get along so well and why Dragonetz was so quick to come to Nici's defense at the end of "Song Hereafter".

Through the bulk of Nici's story we see two contrasting shepherds who strike me as archetypes of the good shepherd and the bad shepherd (people herding literal sheep). This is Nici's actual history but given that he's telling the story as a bedtime story to his puppies, it makes me wonder if he is using it for instructive purposes. In either case, the life and status of shepherds and the vices of some of them show the historical research that I have come to expect from Miss. Gill.

Musca is adorable. He's like the puppies that he goes to the sheep pen to cuddle because he's scared and lonely. I think he's going to be a good big brother.

Trickster Eric Novels gives Nici's Christmas an A+

This has been a free review request. The author requested an honest review so I provided one.

Click here for my next book review: The Lost Mines of Phandelver

Click here for my previous book review: When Champagne Became French

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback

When Champagne Became French (read for fun)

This is the last of the books from my academic backlog. It took me perhaps seven years to read them all. That's how much reading is assigned in the college I attended. Anyway, this book is about the production and marketing of the sparkling wine known as "Champagne" that is produced in the region of France known as "Champagne" by the people living there known as "Champenois". Making it more confusing (for them and me), none of these three categories were fixed and/or rigid at the time, depending on who you asked. That's the point of the book. 　

It is a mix of economic, national, regional, social, geographical, and nutritional themes. No wonder the laws about the beverage grew so complicated. It is divided into five primary chapters sandwiched between an introduction and a conclusion. These sections can be summarized as:
2. Marketing champagne
3. Producing champagne
4. Protecting champagne
5. Defining champagne
6. Fighting over champagne
　
The book describes in the first chapter how champagne became a big deal even though its characteristic bubbles were originally considered a trick to cover the taste of bad wine. I found that to be a fun little fact.
　
The rest of the book goes into a conflict between vine-growers and sparkling-wine-produces, the vignerons and negociants and the two of them together (or not) against those from outside their region. So the bulk of the book is about this conflict. As a novelist, it appeared to me as a Decoy-Protagonist thing because it starts with the negociants but shifts in focus and sympathy to the vignerons.
　
Apparently, it is really difficult to grow grapes in the Marne because of the thin, chalky soil and more so when the weather is bad. Even if you get a big harvest and good wine the market for ordinary wine from the region at the time did not fetch a good price. Then there was one problem after another; a shifting market, phylloxera, competition with grapes and wine from other regions (even after a national demarcation made this illegal) and then World War I. Indeed, the vignerons of the region known as "Champagne" had a raw deal in this time period according to this book.
　
Despite this, the author, Kolleen M. Guy, makes the argument that this is not a struggle originated in class conflict. Labor vs capital is not what's going on (at least, not the primary thing). It is about a sense of regional identity within a national identity and defending what they see as both a regional treasure and a national legacy. Ms. Guy states that the average vigneron was more likely to get along with a negociant who was their neighbor then a vigneron who was not (this is such a gross oversimplification that I fear it is misleading but I'm trying to keep this review short).
　
It's clear that Miss. Guy did a lot of research. References are made to police reports, peasant petitions, political posters, records of the minutes from many meetings of many organizations, quotes from various people of various standings, and also comparisons with the scholarly works of historians and others who have written on this subject. The appendix and notes section could be their own chapter by length. The newspaper parody "War of the Two Beans" was particular poignant.
　
The history of the various "champagnes" is weaved into a story. It is an engaging story. I didn't want to look up "champagne" the beverage on Wikipedia or something like that because I didn't want to spoil the ending for myself.
　
I have two hang-ups about this book, and the first is the gratuitous French. There are a lot of French words used here that are not defined. Sometimes a quote will be only 90% translated into English.  While Ms. Guy does define terms like "terroir", "vigneron" and "negociant" these are the exception rather than the norm. I had to look up what "mevente" meant, a drop in sales.

The second hang up is the lack of section subtitles. The chapters themselves are labelled but sub sections are not. They are demarcated by a space and a special symbol to detonate a shift in subject but without a label it impossible to see at a glance the nature of the shift. This limits the book's utility as a reference. Which is a shame considering the great information here.
　
Trickster Eric Novels gives "When Champagne Became French" a B+

Click here for my next book review (a request): Nici's Christmas (Troubadours)


Click here to read my previous book review (for fun): Who Sang the First Song

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback

Who Sang the First Song (read for fun)

I found this book in the Children's Christianity section of a bookstore while looking for a baptism gift for my niece. I'm glad I did.

It has beautiful artwork. A starry night, the top layer of the ocean, a field around a cottage, a log across a river and more are lovingly depicted. It is bright and cheerful for a young reader but has a certain poignancy and elegance that can appeal to the adult reading to them. This is the beauty of the natural world, God's creation.

It has a great message for children; affirmation of their worth as individuals and encouragement to lead lives of joy and discovery, and also friendship. The art depicts children having fun with each other in nature.

I've read this through twice so far. Being a picture book it is a quick read, and thus perfect as a bedtime story.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Who Sang the First Song" an A+

Click here for my next book review: When Champagne Became French


Click here to read my previous book review (for fun): American Heritage Picture History of the American Civil War

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback