The Spartan Chronicles By Thomas Frood
I enjoyed reading this book. Frood did an admirable job of writing and describing what it was like to work in the north. The Polar bear incident was exciting. Frood's account of his partner going cabin crazy and getting Marley back to civilization was a good read. Two things that kept me from giving this novel a higher rating. At 75 pages I found it to be too short for his spending two summers in the North. There had to be more incidents he could have written about. The other thing that kept me from rating it higher; there were no dates mentioned in the book. Did it happen last year? In the 1020's, 30's or when?
A bit of a disclaimer here. I have not seen Thomas Frood in over 55 years year, but I do know him. He was my high school Mathematics teacher in one of the years that I spent in high school in Odessa, Ontario. The Spartan Chronicles Thank you to LibraryThing and the author for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
This book is just under 100 pages so it's short and an easy read. Basically this book is about the author, Thomas Frood, and his time as an air service employee in the '50s. It's just a few interesting stories but I enjoyed it! The story about the bear made my heart drop. I knew he would be okay but I was still worried how it would go for his partner.
I think there was some technical speak that made the writing a bit clunky and, at parts, confusing. But I think having the raw moments of human error was so important. The author never pretends he was perfect at his job and even highlights some of his (and his crew's) mistakes. I really appreciate that because it makes the author feel more relatable for the reader.
I also really think the tribute to one of his former coworkers (and friend) was sweet. Sharing stories about him with the rest of the team was really nice and a great way of remembering someone who had a large impact on everyone.
All in all, very good collection of memories. I appreciate being able to read and review this. The Spartan Chronicles
The Spartan Chronicles is a collection of stories about places, people, and events which occurred in the late 1950's while Thomas Frood, retired mathematics professor, was working for Spartan Air Services in the Canadian North as a radio operator and weather observer. The Spartan Chronicles