Saint Patrick’s Day is one of my all-time favorite holidays, but this year, the parties have been canceled as we do our part to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Times like this are also a reminder that the real story of Saint Patrick is not about drinking and revelry. It’s the story about a man…
George R.R. Martin based A Games of Thrones on the Wars of the Roses, history’s real game of thrones. It was the Yorks versus the Lancasters, instead of the Starks versus the Lannisters, in a conflict over the English crown. And if you’re interested in this historical game of thrones, Conn Iggulden brings another chapter to life…
Since the New Year began, I’ve been busy writing my next novel, but I’ve also found myself missing Game of Thrones. If you’ve been missing it too, Conn Iggulden’s Wars of the Roses series might offer the perfect remedy. After all, the Wars of Roses were the real game of thrones. The Wars of the…
It’s the middle of the holiday season, and although things are crazy-busy, I found some time to review Mirror Gate by Jeff Wheeler. Review The sequel to Storm Glass trades sky manors for a school of magic. Muirwood Abbey serves as Wheeler’s version of Hogwarts, and there is even a Dumbledore-like headmaster named the Aldermaston….
After finishing Traitor’s Blade, I moved right along to Knight’s Shadow, the second book in Sebastien de Castell’s excellent Greatcoats series. Here is my review. Review The mystery at the heart of Knight’s Shadow is even more complex and intriguing than the one behind Traitor’s Blade. Someone is murdering the dukes and their entire families….
I’m back again on the blog, and this time with a review of Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell, the first book in his four-part Greatcoats series. Review Traitor’s Blade is a swashbuckling adventure, filled with clever mysteries and thrilling swordfights, in the spirit of Alexander Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats,…
I’m glad to be back after a four-month hiatus from the blog! Writing my next novel is what’s kept me away, but I promise there’ll be several more posts before the year’s end. I’m kicking off my return with a review of a wonderful novel I just finished: Storm Glass by Jeff Wheeler. Review Imagine a…
We’re just a month into 2019, but the best book I’ve read this year is The Night Crossing by Robert Masello, who is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. The Night Crossing is a suspense-filled historical fantasy about the events that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Review The Night Crossing follows in the wake of Masello’s…
I can’t remember how many times friends have told me I should read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I was aware of the book’s popularity, but for one reason or another I avoided tackling the 662-page tome for years. Now that I’ve finished it, I finally appreciate what everyone was talking about….
The second book in Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion Sequence, Phoenix in Obsidian, isn’t as good as its predecessor, but still adds to the mythology of the Eternal Champion. This is particularly true with the reemergence of the black sword Stormbringer. Without a doubt, it was the best part of this novel. The story picks up…
Saint Patrick’s Day is one of my all-time favorite holidays, so today I’m re-posting an article about Stephen R. Lawhead’s Patrick: Son of Ireland. I had little appreciation for the story of Saint Patrick until I began my research for Enoch’s Device. The novel tells the story of two Irish monks who try to prevent the apocalypse at the end…