S.Q. Eries's Blog, page 58

Manhwa Review: Aron’s Absurd Armada Vol. #2

An oft-used archetype in popular literature are pirates. Pirate stories are so numerous nowadays, you can find all sorts of buccaneers, ranging from romantic to sly to sinister, and now joining the ranks of Captain Hook and One Piece’s Luffy is the idiot pirate Aron!

Yen Press has just released Volume 2 of the series, and you can read on for the review. (For those interested in my review of Volume 1, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

It’s treasure.

Yup, it’s totally treasure.

It’s definitely shiny and beautiful treasure.

It’s treasure that Aron and (especially) Robin and the crew(?) desire.

It’s treasure that brainless Aron and money-loving Robin and Robin-loving Ronnie and the crew(?) desire.

It’s treasure that brainless Aron and money-loving Robin and Robin-loving Ronnie and Ronnie-loving Dorothy and Dorothy-loving Luther and the crew(?) desire.

So, in conclusion, it’s treasure…!

The Review

Volume 2 picks up where Volume 1 left off, with Aron’s cross-dressing crew escaping the king’s palace, and then proceeds to go all over the place, figuratively and literally. There are no well-defined arcs in this volume, one adventure simply flows into another as characters set goals and forget them once the next distraction arises. Scatterbrained as they are, it’s easy to lose sight of the (minimal) plot. For instance, a quest to make Aron smarter leads to Robin getting amnesia that leads to a quest for an amnesia cure that leads to a witch that leads to Ronnie getting poisoned. By the time the crew invites the witch on board, you’ve forgotten Robin never got a cure and still has amnesia.

The crew also adds two more characters to its crazy cast. One is the aforementioned witch, who, despite her poisonous remedies, has a pleasant disposition and is beloved by all the crew except Ronnie. The other is Phantom Thief XX who, unlike most of the cast, is actually adept at what he does (stealing). He joins the pirate ship to escape a life of being forced to steal from the rich and give to the poor and instead ends up oppressed by Aron and his men.

As in Volume 1, most of the gags have to do with their bizarre personalities and less to do with any particular search for treasure. Kim-sensei’s dropped most of the gay/BL jokes and instead pokes fun at Vincent’s inedible food, Mercedes’ and Robin’s vanity, Anton’s and Gilbert’s blind crush on Wendy, and, above all, Aron’s epic stupidity. And in Volume 2, no one hesitates to punish Aron for his idiocy so he gets beat up over and over.

By the way, for fans of all things cute, in addition to the chibi-themed cover pages, Kim-sensei incorporates several adorable looking animals (and food!) into the manhwa. Apparently, Aron and crew have a weakness for cute things, and Kim-sensei uses that irrational love as the basis for several punchlines.

Interspersed with the adventures of Aron’s crew are a few scenes with the Navy. Most of these revolve around with Luther’s obsession with Dorothy. Even the two new additions to the Navy cast, Eddy and John, serve mainly to show how Luther loses all reason whenever Dorothy’s concerned. In a sense, Luther’s the naval equivalent of Aron, driving his subordinates insane as he does everything from veering off course to seek luck in romance to forfeiting his men’s vacation so as not to be separated from Dorothy.

In Summary

Aron’s Absurd Armada continues with the addition of a witch and master thief and a whole lot of pointless wandering. Though they do go on a search for treasure (the Golden Raccoon), most of their quests are for silly reasons, like learning whether the Sea King’s palace was built underwater or on land. There’s not a whole lot of swashbuckling, but there’s personality clashes aplenty with the world’s stupidest pirate captain and his crew.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Manga Review: Spice and Wolf Vol. #08

Spice and Wolf is a wildly popular light novel series that has spawned off an anime, an Internet radio show, and a manga series. While its European medieval setting is typical of high fantasy, this series has  a unique bent to it. Rather than swordfights and magic, the plot focuses on economics, trade, and peddling in a way that skillfully blends adventure and romance.

Yen Press has recently released the eighth volume of the Spice and Wolf manga, and you can read on for the review. (For my reviews of previous Spice and Wolf releases, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

A new chapter unfolds in the travels of Lawrence and Holo! The pair arrives at the church in the village of Tereo to glean information about Holo’s homeland of Yoitsu. But Elsa, the deaconess, turns them away flat! What has happened to make her so suspicious? Could it have something to do with the neighboring town of Enberch?

The Review

Volume 8 begins with the conclusion of the Tereo arc. While the dilemma is complicated, involving faith, finance, and fraud, Hasekura-sensei works out a solution that showcases Holo’s powers, Lawrence’s negotiation skills, and Elsa and Evan’s mettle. The ultimate resolution between Tereo and Enberch isn’t exactly win-win, but it is fair to all parties involved. As for the village’s religious differences, Elsa reconciles her beliefs with her encounter with Holo, and that results in a new level of understanding between Tereo’s church and local pagans.

The manga then heads into territory that deviates from both the light novel and anime. Both Volume 5 of the novel series and the final episodes of the anime deal with Lawrence’s fur scheme gone bad in Lenos. In Chapter 43 of the manga, Holo and Lawrence do reach Lenos, but they do not tarry there and leave unaffected. The town’s fur dispute merely causes them to detour down the Roam River. Still, the creators seem to want to convey the weight of Lenos’ crisis, and there’s a strange juxtaposition of Lawrence and Holo chatting leisurely with their ferryman while buildings burn and people riot in the background.

Once on the river, our traveling pair meets Col, a boy swindled by a con artist. He’s the epitome of big puppy dog eyes, and Lawrence helps him out of his pinch. But though the child’s innocent to the ways the world, he’s not stupid, and he’s also quite earnest, which makes for an interesting dynamic when combined with our crafty wisewolf and scheming merchant.

Col also introduces what may lead to the story’s next economics challenge: a discrepancy in financial statements regarding copper coin. For now, our travelers’ main concern is gathering more leads on Holo’s homeland, but several other elements are swirling around: rumors of an ancient text about copper mining, cutthroat merchants blocking riverways, refusal of money orders, a port town’s marketplace disagreement, and a mysterious female merchant. It’s unclear how all these parts will fit together, but I hope it forms some sort of picture soon because it’s a lot of pieces to keep track of.

In Summary

The Tereo arc concludes with a dramatic showdown. While the “miracle” that arises is only possible because of Holo’s power, Lawrence, Elsa, and Evan also play their part in creating an agreement amenable to all parties involved. The journey then continues with a detour that takes merchant and wisewolf downriver, where they encounter the penniless waif Col. While our travelers’ next moneymaking scheme is as yet unclear, the innocent but bright Col looks like he’ll be their companion for a while.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Manga Review: Are You Alice? Vol. 01

Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland has inspired all sorts of spinoff works, from visual art to movies to manga. However, Ai Ninomiya may have conjured up the most unusual Alice yet.  Are You Alice?, which originally began as a CD series, features a gun-toting male as its Alice!

Back Cover Blurb

A boy who has discarded all his dreams loses his way in “Wonderland,” where he discovers that he possesses the name of “Alice,” one that is vital to the Kill the White Rabbit Game. In this mad tale, common sense is out the window and all are bound by both the rules of the “game” and the commands of the Queen of Hearts. Amidst the insanity, Alice decides to pick up a cold, glittering gun and shoot his way to his own identity.

The Review

With bad-boy bishounen Mr. Hatter and “Alice” sporting their snazzy suits, cigarette, and pistol on the front cover, Are You Alice? looks like it could be a cop, detective, or yakuza title. But this story is as far from urban contemporary as you can get. The “Alice” mentioned in the title is Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and as bizarre as the setting of the original is, Ninomiya-sensei ratchets up the insanity of her particular Wonderland several notches.

At its core, Are You Alice? is a quest for identity. Unfortunately for our disillusioned main character, his journey takes him to the mad world of Wonderland where everyone is bound by role-specific rules, and the only role available to him is that of “Alice.” However, to secure that name, he must follow the ruthless Queen of Hearts’ orders and hunt down the White Rabbit. If he fails, he’ll wind up a “Regret,” a vindictive spirit ever yearning to be “Alice.”

Our main character is the 89th “Alice” candidate attempting to claim the position of Alice in Wonderland, and he’s the most unusual one yet. Judging from the Regrets that keep attacking him, the previous Alice candidates were ingenuous young girls while he’s a teen punk with a smart mouth. Those familiar with the classic story might find it odd have a male Alice, but Wonderland is supposed to be nonsensical anyway, and the creators take their liberties in portraying the Wonderland characters. The Queen of Hearts, who also happens to be a guy, is not so much a strident tyrant as he is a cool manipulator. The Cheshire cat is a mischievous bishounen with cat ears, and the White Rabbit’s a kid armed with a sword and bad attitude.

While Wonderland is the setting, it also possesses a kind of personality. All of its inhabitants, even the Queen, are bound by its inexorable rules. In addition, something is desperately wrong with Wonderland that prevents its inhabitants from turning to the past. “Alice” of course is the key to that mysterious problem, which means everyone he encounters is either desperate to protect him or, like the Regrets, out to get rid of him.

Just as Lewis Carroll told of a crazy journey down the rabbit hole, Are You Alice? also presents a bizarre tale, albeit with a lot more breast groping, gunfire, and blood splattering (ergo the older teen rating). Oftentimes, things that appear innocent turn out to have a sinister twist, and there are all sorts of unnerving scenes of sweet looking characters turning into or getting swallowed by the utterly malevolent. This contrast is even more jarring thanks to artist Katagiri’s skill at making the beautiful gorgeous and the grotesque absolutely creepy.

This manga includes an afterword by Ninomiya-sensei as an extra, and the title page and table of contents are printed in color.

In Summary

Are You Alice? is based off the Carroll classic, but this is definitely not Disney kiddie fare. Don’t let the main character’s modern styled clothes fool you, this journey through Wonderland is closer to a Victorian goth tale. Personally, I found the original Alice in Wonderland too confusing to enjoy, and Are You Alice? is similar in how it completely disorients readers, albeit with a more violent flavor. If that’s your cup of tea, then you might want to give this particular Alice’s journey a try.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Write On Con 2013 underway!

Write On Con is back!

If you’ve wanted to go to a conference and connect with writers, editors, and agents, but you don’t have the money or the time to travel to distant locations, Write On Con is for you! It’s FREE! You’ve nothing to lose!

It takes place today and tomorrow, August 13-14, 2013. There are forums where you can get peer reviews of queries, synopses, and manuscript openers. And there are contests and NINJA AGENTS, too! So check it out!

Manga Review: Oresama Teacher Vol. #14

Mafuyu is a high school delinquent who wants to turn over a new leaf. So when she transfers schools, she thinks she’ll finally be able to live the life of a normal girl. There’s just one problem: her teacher  Mr. Saeki is a bigger delinquent than she is!

Oresama Teacher is a shojo manga that offers humor of the silly variety. Volume 14 has recently been released, and you can read on for the review. (For those who are interested, you can click here for my reviews of earlier volumes).

Back Cover Blurb

Kanon Nonoguchi, enemy to the Public Morals Club, has been kidnapped by the Kiyama High delinquents! So of course Mafuyu and her club mates set off at once to rescue their nemesis. But even if Mafuyu and the others can help Kanon break out of the Kiyama storage shed, will she be able to escape her painful past?

The Review

Volume 14 begins with the conclusion of the Kanon arc. The story looked like it was going in the direction of massive-rumble-at-Kiyama-where-Mafuyu/Natsuo-gallantly-rescues-Kanon, and it does, but it has a couple other layers added. For one, Tsubaki-sensei plays up the stupidity of the Kiyama thugs so there’s a strong element of comedy in addition to the brawling. Also, the story returns to the dramatic moment where Kanon loses her faith in princes and drags the Kiyama bancho into that narrative. That intertwining of paths is an unexpected development, but it makes the plot a lot more complicated. So much so that Tsubaki-sensei includes a six paragraph post-arc afterword explaining the backstory from the Kiyama bancho’s perspective.

With Kanon at a happy ending, I expected the next Student Council Member to attack the Public Morals Club. Instead, Mafuyu, Takaomi, and Akki wind up back in their hometown on an unexpected holiday. Of course they run into members of Mafuyu’s old gang so Kangawa and Maizono get to make appearances. But what’s really fun and interesting about this random trip are the flashbacks of Mafuyu and Takaomi’s past together.

The setting then shifts back to Midorigaoka. Again, no move from the Student Council, but we do get the high school’s next big event: the newly reinstated class trip! Class trip arcs are standard fare in high school manga, but it’s interesting to view it from a delinquent POV. Just as entertaining is Takaomi’s unconventional chaperoning. It’s not clear what their destination is, but it’s setting up to be a enjoyable arc.

Extras include lots of post-chapter 4-panel comics and the aforementioned super-long afterword from Tsubaki-sensei.

In Summary

Oresama Teacher wraps up the Kanon arc, which turns out to be far more complicated than it originally let on. Tsubaki-sensei manages to get the characters to a happy ending though and then detours from the main story with a random scavenger hunt and a trip down memory lane. Then the story dives into Midorigaoka’s class trip! The next Student Council opponent has yet to make an appearance, but it’s already a fun start with delinquents befuddled by the concept leisure travel with classmates.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Korean Drama DVD Review: Penny Pinchers

After becoming a Korean spa aficionado, it was only a matter of time before I became enamored of the greatest of Korean world exports. No, it’s not kimchee. I’m talking about K-dramas!

They’ve got dramas of all sorts playing on the screens at Korean spas, and yes, they are as addictive as they say. Being a history fangirl, I generally watch the 60+ episode period dramas, but I recently had the opportunity to review a contemporary rom-com movie, Penny Pinchers.

Back Cover Blurb

Ji-woong can’t get a job, survives on an allowance from his mom and is content to cruise through life on his looks and ability to talk a good game. But his freewheeling ways screech to a halt when his family cuts him off and his landlord finally evicts him. That same day, salvation arrives in the form of Hong-sil, a mysterious girl with an unusual proposal: ”Want to make some money? Then do everything I say.”

Audio

The only language option for this title is the original Korean in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround with English subtitles. Overall, it’s a dialogue-heavy movie that does not rely on sound effects, and the music’s more indie than epic, so there isn’t much to say. Regarding the subtitles, they’re easy to read, but they’re not the prettiest (they’ve got a pixelated look to the edges). Translation of the dialogue is fine, but unfortunately, they don’t translate storefronts/signs. Also, there’s one scene where the characters are getting choked up watching a movie, but the movie they’re watching is not translated.

Video

Presented in its original 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio, the video for this was fine. The visuals were mostly urban scenes with only a couple wire work stunts. There were no technical issues that I noticed.

Packaging

The front cover features Ji-woong and Hong-sil in a car ostensibly returning from a scavenging hunt. On the back are images of Ji-woong in a hoodie and Hong-sil in a short trenchcoat (from the Korean release posters), a few screen shots, and the series summary. (By the way, that picture of Hong-sil on the back is completely misleading. Her bare legs and high heels make her look sexy, but her look throughout the film is more along the lines of frumpy.) No DVD related inserts are included inside the case.

Extras

This release has quite a few extras. They include an 18 minute short on the making of Penny Pinchers; a Q&A with lead actors Song Joong-ki and Han Ye-seul; footage from a press conference, poster shoot, and VIP premiere; original South Korean trailers; cast and crew bios; and 5 Point Pictures trailers.

Content

While watching the Penny Pinchers promo material included as extras, the tagline that kept popping up was “Let’s Date Without Money!” Actually, that line’s a bit misleading because there’s not much dating going on in the film. And the dates that do take place do not pair the two main characters together. It is a romantic comedy, but it’s more a tale of gradual understanding than a passionate pursuit of love.

The main male character, Ji-woong, is a handsome wastrel. Unable to get a job, he spends his days goofing around in Seoul, content to survive on an allowance from his mom in the countryside. But those days come to a screeching halt when a wild boar destroys his mom’s restaurant. His bank account runs dry, and his landlady evicts him soon after.

Enter Hong-sil, the girl living in the shabby rooftop apartment across from his (there seem to be a lot of these in K-dramas). She offers the newly homeless Ji-woong an unusual bargain: do exactly as she says for two months, and he’ll make $5000. He accepts, and Ji-woong finds himself thrust into a bizarre world of profit making and extreme miserliness.

In regard to characters, Ji-woong (played by Song Joong-ki) is your garden-variety good-looking smooth talker. Song played a similar self-indulgent sort in the period drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal, but this time he’s a broke good-for-nothing, not a rich scholar. While we get some laughs watching him try to weasel his way into things he can’t afford, he’s an open book, and at least for the first half the film, his actions are fairly predictable.

Hong-sil, on the other hand, is a much more interesting character. Played by Han Ye-seul, she’s a blend of ultra-cheapskate and queen of odd jobs. Despite her personal prohibition against dating (because it costs money), she does have a crush on her financial advisor, and her awkward attempts to endear herself to him lead to some entertaining moments. Of course, a personality like that doesn’t come out of thin air, and a large part of the plot is Ji-woong discovering the circumstances that shaped her into the person she is.

Unfortunately, the movie moves slowly in that department. It isn’t until about midway through the film that the couple’s relationship really comes to life. Until that point, the film feels more like a series of vignettes about the stupid things Ji-woong does because he’s broke and the shameless things Hong-sil does to make money.

Once Ji-woong starts to understand Hong-sil and Hong-sil gets an actual goal for her cash stockpile, the pace really picks up. There is one point in the latter half of the film that felt like a major hiccup though. A dramatic moment takes place over the Han River, but once past the climax, the follow-up happens so quickly, it’s almost as if it didn’t really matter. However, the final segment, with Ji-woong going after Hong-sil’s tree, was marvelously played and paced, making for a satisfying happy ending to the film.

By the way, the film’s rated 15+, but I’m not exactly sure why. It contains some swearing, some groping, and a crazy scene where Ji-woong is a few cents short of buying a condom, but no actual sex or nudity.

One more thing. As mentioned earlier, Hong-sil’s moneymaking schemes are what carry the film through its first half, but some of them might leave American audiences scratching their heads. A few, like scavenging junk from abandoned houses to pass as antiques, are self-explanatory, but others, like the redneck-style advertising tapes, I still don’t understand. Compounding that is the lack of subtitles for signs and storefronts. In one instance, Ji-woong points to a giant yellow van with a cutesy sign and logo. I thought it was a food truck at first, and it wasn’t until midway through the next scene that I realized it was a mobile blood donation unit.

In Summary

In the DVD extras, the director describes Penny Pinchers as a “realistic” story. If by “realistic” he means no vampires and no crazy rich F4, it does fit the bill. Our super carefree spendthrift and our super penny pincher are extreme characters, but the relationship that results has a genuine and natural feel although the film does takes a while to build up to it. Penny Pinchers gets off to a slow start but makes its way to a superb finish.

First published at The Fandom Post:

Unsung Inventions: Horseshoes

As mentioned in my June 20, 2013 post, I’ve been reflecting on humble yet revolutionary inventions that ancient Greek horsemen lacked, and today’s focus is horseshoes.

A horse’s hoof might look hard as a rock, but it’s not. It’s similar in makeup to our own fingernails, which means they can also crack, chip, and split. Under damp conditions, they soften. They’re designed to take on a certain amount of stress, but the demands on a horse in the wild are dramatically different than one running with the weight of a rider or pulling loads.

A horse is constantly on its feet, and as any horse owner knows, once it starts having foot problems, the rest of its health can quickly decline. Unfortunately, a cavalry or caravan can’t always be choosy about the terrain it travels through, so someone got the bright idea to put on some foot protection.

Horseshoes as we know them help to offset the demands on working horses by preventing excessive wear and strengthening the hoof wall. Nailed horseshoes weren’t developed until around 900 A.D., but even in the B.C. era, equestrians were experimenting with metal and leather coverings on horses’ feet.

The Greeks were not among those folks. Instead, they went about hoof care another way. In Xenophon’s On Equitation, he writes that stables should have sloping floors (to promote drainage) and be cobbled with round stones in order to keep hooves hard and in good shape. He also advises against washing horses’ legs. In other words, Greeks maintained conditions that would keep their horses’ hooves dry (so they wouldn’t soften) and wearing evenly. That latter part is important because the Greeks didn’t trim their horses’ hooves. Vegetius, a Roman veterinarian, writes about cutting hooves to the quick in the case of laminitis but doesn’t mention routine trimming, which is regarded basic horse care nowadays.

As much as horseshoes have done to enable horses to work under loads and conditions they couldn’t otherwise, horseshoes are not without drawbacks. (Apparently, horseshoes can impede blood circulation, among other things.) As such, many owners keep their horses shoeless part of the year, and some, like the Boyz’ Mom, keep them barefoot all the time.

Having shoeless Friesians does mean extra work for the Boyz’ Mom. She spends a half hour each week filing their feet down (unlike the Greeks, she’s not going to rely on a cobblestone yard to keep those hooves well-shaped), but she’s willing to put in that effort to keep her Boyz happy and healthy. In that sense, perhaps the ancient Greeks had the right idea after all.

#MSWL: Editor and Agent Manuscript Wish List!

For writers who are querying manuscripts, there’s a new, very handy resource available! Hastag #MSWL was launched on Twitter the end of last month.  It stands for Manuscript Wish List and many great agents have weighed in on the type of stories they are currently looking for. If you are on Twitter, you should check it out!

Even if you don’t have a Twitter account, you can still take advantage of it via this link on Tumblr:

http://agentandeditorwishlist.tumblr.com/

You still need to look up each agent’s submission guidelines elsewhere (querytracker.net and agentquery.com can be helpful in addition to the standard Google search), but there’s a lot of great info that might just help a writer find the perfect agent for her manuscript.

Happy querying!

Unsung Inventions: Bits

As mentioned in my June 20, 2013 post, I’ve been reflecting on humble yet revolutionary inventions that ancient Greek horsemen lacked, and today’s focus is on bits.

Bits have existed nearly much as long as horsemanship. It helps that horses have that natural gap between their teeth that looks genetically designed to accommodate a bit. But while the bit existed well before the ancient Greeks, their design and use have changed dramatically over the years.

As mentioned in my last post, fitting an ancient Greek bridle properly was critical. The straps of the bridle served to secure the bit in the horse’s mouth. If they were too loose, the horse could take the bit between its teeth (a very bad thing for the rider/driver). But if they were too tight, the bit could harden the horse’s mouth (a very bad thing for the rider/driver and horse). And if you saw fourth century BC Greek bits, you’d see exactly how a horse’s mouth could get damaged.

Modern Snaffle

Ancient Bits

Ancient Bits

Above are some bits I saw at the museum in Olympia. As you can see from the pictures, the basic design is similar to a modern snaffle bit, but they also have those wicked looking points at the ends. According to J.K. Anderson’s Ancient Greek Horsemanship, other ancient bits also included spiked plates and rollers (spiked or smooth). You can find pictures of those in Anderson’s book, and to me, they look more like torture devices than something you’d put into a beloved horse’s mouth.

According to Anderson, the bits were so severe that Greek riders generally kept their reins slack and communicated instead through their seat bones (which is possible because they rode bareback). The only time they would use reins was to enforce a command, and they would immediately disengage once the horse obeyed. Anderson doesn’t comment on driving techniques, but I imagine drivers relied more on voice commands and the whip/driving stick signals with bits like that.

In regard to training horses, trainers would start with a more severe bit first. Once the horse learned to respond to it, they would switch to a smoother one. That might be why the bits on display in Olympia aren’t nearly as spiky as the examples in Anderson’s book.

Severe bits still exist nowadays, but their function has completely changed. Instead of acting as a punishing force to emphasize commands, bit and reins form a constant line of communication with riders applying light continuous tension on their horses’ mouths. Somewhere along the way, either the bits got redesigned or the philosophy of horsemanship changed. Either way, I’m sure the horses are happy not to have spiked plates pressing against their lips.

Next up: horseshoes.

Unsung Inventions: Buckles

As mentioned in my June 20, 2013 post, I’ve been reflecting on humble yet revolutionary inventions that ancient Greek horsemen lacked, and today’s focus is on buckles.

Hardly anyone would think of a buckle as an invention nowadays. They’re so ubiquitous it seems as if they’d been with humankind always. But they haven’t. The first buckles came during the time of the Romans. A development in armor, the first buckles were expensive so only the military and the rich could afford them. It wasn’t until the 15th century that a cheaper way of manufacturing them made general use of buckles possible.

Ancient Greek horsemen, however, were completely without buckles. Consider that and then consider how many buckles are used by horsemen. I don’t know the last time you passed a stable, but buckles are everywhere. On bridles, saddles, harness… They not only make it easy to secure tack onto a horse, they allow different animals to share equipment fairly quickly. I was at a horse show in Norco, California, where two animals were using the same harness and cart for the same course. The owner only had a few minutes to switch out the horses, and I was impressed by the speed at which she swapped them out.

But without buckles, what would you have?

In ancient Greek world, the answer was knots. Lots of them. Saddles weren’t an issue because, as mentioned in my previous post, riders went bareback. Securing a bridle properly, however, was critical, especially given the type of bits the Greeks used (more on that later). As such, every bridle was fitted specifically to one horse. None of the straps could be undone or adjusted except for the throatlatch, which was a secured by a quick release knot on the near (right) side.

I’m the type who considers tying shoelaces a chore. I can only imagine how time-consuming it was to tie and retie and adjust all those knots to harness up a chariot team.

So to all you horse folk out there, next time you tighten a girth or lengthen your stirrups leathers pause a moment and hail that handy bit of technology called the buckle.

Next time: bits