#20 Books of Summer - Two reviews

I have read another two books for the 20 Books of Summer challenge. The challenge is hosted by Annabel at AnnaBookBel and Emma of Words and Peace. The two books are Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Tychonium, The Experiment (my translation) by Jan Johannesson. Two rather different kind of books.

Marcus Aurelius (121-180 CE) - the man

Marcus Aurelius was the last of the "Five Good Emperors" (the others being: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrianus, and Antoninus Pius). He is the epithet of a Roman emperor, but he was also a philosopher, often remembered as the ideal Stoic ruler. Born into a prominent Roman family, he was adopted by Emperor Antoninus Pius as part of a succession plan. which was drawn up by Emperor Hadrian. It was quite common in the Roman times to adopt a person you wanted to inherit your fortune, or position in society. Marcus was already from a young age, drawn to philosophy, particularly Stoicism, and its emphasises on rationality, duty, and self-discipline. Marcus Aurelius became emperor in 161 CE. His death in 180 CE marked the end of the Pax Romana.

Marcus was a wise ruler and just leader. It is probably due to his education and the philosophical ideas which he tried to live by. He spent most of his reign on military campaigns, had to face the Antonine plague which killed millions and constant rebellions against the Empire's borders. Despite these pressures he managed to focus on virtue and reason, rarely allowing personal interest to take precedence over his public duty.

He lived his whole life by Stoic principles and believed in controlling the self, accepting fate and acting with justice. He was thoughtful, modest, introspective, and duty-bound. He also lived a simple life despite his power, in contrast to many influential people during the Roman era.

Meditations

His Meditations was his personal writings, never meant for publication. They were written in Greek during his military campaigns. The aim was to help him, and clarify his self-reflections and moral improvement. They are based on the Stoic philosophy of controlling one's emotions, accepting fate, and doing one's duty. It is also a reflection on mortality and the nature of life. Even if you live in external chaos, you should stay true to reason and virtue.

Marcus' reflections are personal, often meditative and sometimes stern. Avoid distractions, pleasures and vanity. They are repetitive, as you have to remind yourself of the virtues. They are easy to forget as you go through daily life, and you have to regularly contemplate their values. It might be difficult to think you can follow these rules today, but that is not the case. Many of them are eternal values for whatever society you live in. We have something to learn from them, also in our daily lives. Here are two famous quotes which I try to think of in my daily life.

• “You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

• “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”

Marcus Aurelius reflections on life are still remembered today, and widely read and respected. There is something in his meditations for everyone. He embodies the ideal leadership based on ethical self-discipline and inner clarity. This is something that should inspire leaders today. It might be good for all of us to write down a few reflections of our day; what did we do? did we act in a good way to our fellow beings? were we true to ourselves.

"For nowhere does a man retreat into more quiet or more privacy than into his own mind, especially one who has within such things that he has only to look into, and become at once in perfect ease; and by ease I mean nothing else but good behaviour." From Meditations, IV.3

Jan Johannesson: Tychonium, Experimentet (The Experiment)

Jan Johannesson is a Swedish civil engineer and strategy consultant, turned author. His debut novel came in 2022, Tychonium, The Discovery (unfortunately available only in Swedish). Johannesson has spent a lot of his life on Hven, the small island situated in Öresund, between Sweden and Denmark. Maybe that is why he chose to make his historical fiction trilogy about Tycho Brahe, the famous Danish astronomer, who lived on the island at the end of the 16th century. The Experiment is the second instalment of the trilogy.

"The secret society Brahes Familia is put to new tests after the events of Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg in 1905. Now they must find new ways to secure the possibility of carrying out Tycho Brahe's experiment - the explosive discovery that Tycho and his sister Sophie made on Hven in March 1590.

At the beginning of the 20th century, society is developing at a furious pace and new ideas are pushing old truths aside. The peace negotiations in the United States to try to end the Russo-Japanese War force Kirsten Rööd-Michelsen to make a choice. No one is left untouched by the uprisings in Tsarist Russia, and when the need for change is greatest, everything is put to the test.

Henri Becquerel's scientific abilities are tested to the limit when Brahes Familia must find a way to carry out the experiment while preparing for their most difficult mission. In 1908, the future of the world is at stake, in a time eerily similar to our own.

Tychonium – The Experiment is the second part of the Tychonium series, a fantasy-inducing historical thriller about secret societies, power struggles, and great discoveries."

As a fan of historical fiction this is a thrilling tale of international politics and power struggles. Both on a governmental as well as on a personal level. Johannesson is well researched in both historical events and in scientific research. I am full of admiration for the scientific parts of the story. Johannesson manages to put his charismatic characters into real world events, and include them, in a realistic way, to real historical persons included in the story.

The second instalment of the trilogy is as exciting and thrilling as the first one. We get deeper into the main characters as well as being introduced to new ones. Behind them is the devastating experiment which finally is to take place, far out in the wilderness of Russia. A Russia in turmoil due to the Russian-Japanese war and revolutionary movements. All seen through various characters in Russia, on different levels of society.

The Experiment is not only an international thriller, it is also a lesson in history and science. Mixed with the personal lives of the main characters it is a solid novel, difficult to put down. Is it a story of man's pursuit for scientific development, or a fight for knowledge to gain power? I can't wait for the third instalment.

In the meantime I have finished another book, outside my 20 books list. Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford. A review of this nonfiction account on her life will be published during Paris in July.

I am to start the next book to read for this challenge; Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks. Since I always need a couple of books to change between, I did another spin from my list, and got: Tamara - Memoirs of St Petersburg, Paris, Oxford and Byzantium by Tamara Talbot Rice.

That is four books in total so far, of which I am very pleased. I hope you are doing well with the summer/winter reading?