The Pagan Lord, the seventh novel in Bernard Cornwell’s The Saxon Tales series, offers another suspenseful and battle-fueled adventure in the decades-long conflict between the Saxons and Danes to decide England’s fate. The story begins when the series’ protagonist Uhtred of Bebbanburg, an unabashed pagan, kills an abbot while attempting to reclaim his eldest son…
This week, I’m pleased to feature another review by Bill Brockman, this time of Blood Eye by Giles Kristian, Book 1 of his Raven Trilogy. For those new to this blog, Bill is an avid reader of historical fiction, but he’s also devoted his life to public service as a Battalion Chief of the Atlanta Fire…
I’ve been looking forward to The Hallowed by author L. Marrick for a long time. It’s considered Arthurian fiction, but takes place during the early years of the Fifth Century near the end of the Roman Empire. This had me intrigued. After all, the legends of Arthur place him at the end of the Fifth…
The things I’ve always enjoyed about Dan Brown’s books have been the historical/religious elements, the European settings, and the puzzle-like plots. I know a lot of literary critics and book reviewers are critical of Dan Brown’s writing style (here’s a great example), but I don’t get too wrapped up in that. I generally find the…
Every once in a while I read a novel that reminds me why I adore historical fantasy. It starts with the historical setting, a window to a world in our past and a chance to learn a bit of history – a trait that all well written historical fiction shares. But add in a bit…
After finishing The White Queen on Starz, a show I really enjoyed, I picked up the novel by Philippa Gregory on which the show’s based. The Starz series stayed true to the novel, The White Queen, with a few significant exceptions, namely a very real difference in the stories’ narrative points of view. The cover of my edition Having read the novel…
I ripped through the second book in Roberto Calas’ The Scourge series, and I think that’s a testament to how engaging these books really are. I’ve tried hard to write a review that doesn’t contain too many *SPOILERS,* but if you’re inclined to read the first book in the series, you may want to stop…
I’m not a big fan of horror novels, but I’ve read my fair share of vampire fiction, everything from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, and even Twilight, if for no other reason than to see what all the hype was about. This Halloween, however, has me thinking about one of the more…
This week I’m featuring another guest review from Bill Brockman. I was fortunate a few months ago to feature Bill’s review of Hawk Quest by Robert Lyndon, which you can read here. This week, Bill is reviewing Fin Gall – A Novel of Viking Age Ireland by James L. Nelson, and it sounds like another…
Last week I finished reading The Scourge by Roberto Calas, and boy was it a gripping read! I ended up sacrificing the better part of a good night’s sleep to finish the final twelve chapters, and I’ve already started the second book in the series, Nostrum. My review follows this image of the book’s cover….
As my series on the Magic of Medieval Fiction nears the Sixth Century, I decided to read Brendán by Morgan Llywelyn, a novel about one of that century’s most renowned Irish saints. I must say that in reading this book, all my research about Irish monks for Enoch’s Device seemed to come to life (which…