Every once in a while I’ll reread one of my favorite novels for inspiration, and this summer that read was The Archer’s Tale by Bernard Cornwell. It reminded me how much I loved his Grail Quest series, and how pieces of it helped inspire my first novel, Enoch’s Device. I consider The Archer’s Tale to be a…
I’m still figuring out what to do in a post Game of Thrones world, so this week I’m resurrecting a post from the summer of 2013. Hope you enjoy it. For the third year in a row, I plan to spend my summer vacation in the Bahamas. It’s hard not to like the Caribbean with…
These days, it’s quite rare when I agree to do a book review. The problem is time. There’s just not much of it given my job and my writing. But David’s pitch for his novel The Conjurers caught my eye, and I’m glad I read it. The subtitle of The Conjurers is “A Gritty Fantasy of…
This week, I’m featuring my review of Pope Joan, the highly acclaimed novel by Donna Woolfolk Cross. I read it before my trip to Rome last year, but only now got around to putting my thoughts to the page. Better late than never, I suppose. Pope Joan is a fictional account based on the legend…
On the heels of my review of The Empty Throne, I’m offering my review of the next novel in Bernard Cornwell’s Last Kingdom series, Warriors of the Storm. The novel is another excellent installment in Cornwell’s ongoing saga about the Saxons and the Vikings in early ninth-century England. Reading Warriors of the Storm, I could…
Earlier this year, I finished The Empty Throne by Bernard Cornwell, the eighth installment in his newly renamed Last Kingdom series about England’s struggles against the Vikings in the late eighth and early ninth centuries. Here’s my review after this image of the book’s cover. When I saw the book’s title, I had assumed the…
This week, I’m a little late to the blog, largely because I’m recovering from knee surgery. But this unfortunate development has offered some time to catch up on my reading. Recently, I finished A Plunder of Souls by D.B. Jackson, and here’s my review. A Plunder of Souls is a welcome and worthwhile edition to…
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. That novel begins in Derry and tells the story of two Irish monks who try to prevent…
I’m pleased to once again feature a guest review by Bill Brockman. 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 Rescue Department and a 31-year part-time airman in the Air National Guard. Here’s his take on this new…
Poul Anderson was one of giants of the golden age of science fiction and fantasy, authoring vintage classics like Three Hearts and Three Lions. But he also wrote historical fiction, including a trilogy about Harald Hardrada, a Norwegian king whose failed attempt to conquer England in 1066 marked the end of the Viking Age. I…
For months I’ve been meaning to post my review of Fin Gall by James L. Nelson. Guest reviewer Bill Brockman first reviewed the book here. My take follows this image of the book’s cover. Fin Gall turned out to be a wonderful surprise. I was expecting a book focused on Vikings, but Nelson’s novel is…