{"id":9509,"date":"2017-12-10T10:01:07","date_gmt":"2017-12-10T15:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=9509"},"modified":"2024-08-09T10:49:09","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T14:49:09","slug":"the-custom-of-the-army-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9509","title":{"rendered":"The Custom of the Army"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Custom of the Army<\/a><\/em> (2010) Diana Gabaldon<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in London and Canada<\/p>\n

One of the things I loved about the story was the brief glimpse of Hal (much of the book is set in the Americas).<\/p>\n

his brother often did take his daughter out, with the feeble excuse that the child needed air. His wife accused him of wanting to show the baby off\u2014 she was beautiful\u2014 but Grey thought the cause somewhat more straightforward. His ferocious, autocratic, dictatorial brother\u2014 Colonel of his own regiment, terror of both his own troops and his enemies\u2014 had fallen in love with his daughter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

OK, there is this as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cEventful,\u201d he repeated. \u201cYes, it was, rather. But I didn\u2019t do anything to Caroline Woodford save hold her hand whilst being shocked by an electric eel, I swear it. Gleeglgleeglgleegl-pppppssssshhhhh,\u201d he added to Dottie, who shrieked and giggled in response.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another thing, combined with the above, are the reminders that despite everything, John holds family important.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. Well. As I said, it\u2019s nothing to do with Olivia\u2014 and so it\u2019s nothing to do with you.\u201d He spoke with apparent calmness, but Grey could see the pulse hammering in his throat, the nervous shiftiness of his eyes. \u201cIt\u2019s nothing out of the ordinary\u2014 it\u2019s the bloody custom, for God\u2019s sake. Everybody\u2014\u201d <\/p>\n

He kneed Stubbs in the balls. \u201cTry again,\u201d he advised Stubbs, who had fallen down and was curled into a fetal position, moaning. \u201cTake your time; I\u2019m not busy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Olivia is only his cousin, yet he behaves as if she were her sister–even in a time when men didn’t always hold their sisters in high regard.<\/p>\n

And through these stories are the reminder that war and battle were not and are not calm and clean, but chaos and ugliness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u2026 the killing. Not \u2026 battle. Not an honorable thing. Farmers. Women \u2026\u201d Grey saw Stubbs\u2019s heavy throat move, swallowing. \u201cI\u2014 we\u2014 for months now. Looting the countryside, burning farms, villages.\u201d He sighed, broad shoulders slumping. \u201cThe men, they don\u2019t mind. Half of them are brutes to begin with.\u201d He breathed. \u201cThink \u2026 nothing of shooting a man on his doorstep and taking his wife next to his body.\u201d He swallowed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That, of course, makes parts of these stories hard to read, but I think it’s important that we be reminded just how much those who fight are sacrificing and changed by their experiences.<\/p>\n

I tend to forget that fireflies aren’t universal.<\/p>\n

A drifting spark of green drew his eye, and he felt delight well up in him. There was another \u2026 another \u2026 ten, a dozen, and the air was suddenly full of fireflies, soft green sparks that winked on and off, glowing like tiny distant candles among the dark foliage. He\u2019d seen fireflies once or twice before, in Germany, but never in such abundance. They were simple magic, pure as moonlight.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I do love this series.
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Publisher: Dell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Custom of the Army (2010) Diana Gabaldon Set in London and Canada One of the things I loved about the story was the brief glimpse of Hal (much of the book is set in the Americas). his brother often did take his daughter out, with the feeble excuse that the child needed air. His […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,30,33,148,41,56],"tags":[74,556,75],"class_list":["post-9509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-historical","category-queer","category-reread","category-sexual-content","tag-diana-gabaldon","tag-georgian-era","tag-lord-john"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2tn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3342,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3342","url_meta":{"origin":9509,"position":0},"title":"The Custom of the Army","author":"Michelle","date":"December 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Custom of the Army (2012) Diana Gabaldon This is a Lord John novella. During an electric eel party, Lord John ends up in a duel (he's not entirely sure how). When he opponent dies, Lord John is sent by his commander (also his brother) to Canada, where his presence\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Custom of the Army","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/custom-army.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5235,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5235","url_meta":{"origin":9509,"position":1},"title":"The Custom of the Army","author":"Michelle","date":"April 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Custom of the Army (2012) Diana Gabaldon Why do I like Lord John so much? \u201cThe world is chaos and death and destruction. But people like you\u2014 you don\u2019t stand for that. If there is any order in the world, any peace\u2014 it\u2019s because of you, John, and those\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"custom-of-the-army","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/custom-of-the-army.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3902,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3902","url_meta":{"origin":9509,"position":2},"title":"The Custom of the Army","author":"Michelle","date":"July 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Custom of the Army (2012) Diana Gabaldon Another re-read. After a duel at an electric eel party (These used to be a Thing! Fascinating!) Hal decides it's best if Lord John puts himself out of the way for awhile, so when his presence is requested in the Americas, to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"custom-of-the-army","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/custom-of-the-army-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3890,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3890","url_meta":{"origin":9509,"position":3},"title":"Lord John and the Private Matter","author":"Michelle","date":"July 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon I'm in another mood where I don't know what I want to read, so I instead chose to re-read something I enjoyed. This time it was Lord John and the Private Matter. Lord John Gray is a Major in the British\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"lord-john-private-matter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/lord-john-private-matter-199x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3300,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3300","url_meta":{"origin":9509,"position":4},"title":"Lord John and the Private Matter","author":"Michelle","date":"November 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon I read a Lord John short story by Diana Gabaldon in the anthology Down These Strange Streets, and if you know anything about my reading preference, you should be impressed when I tell you it was a zombie story, and I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lord John and the Private Matter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/lord-john-and-the-private-matter.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9493,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9493","url_meta":{"origin":9509,"position":5},"title":"Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade","author":"Michelle","date":"November 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon This is a boinking book, but it's also a book about family and justice and doing what is right. Although I find Hal (John's brother) sometimes rather difficult, I think in this book I truly begin to like him.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Lord-John-Brotherhood-Blade-e1511011078204.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9509\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}