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…
I came late Fox’s Sleepy Hollow. I read about it before the season aired, but thought it was merely a modern day retelling of the story that was already done to perfection by Tim Burton in his movie, Sleepy Hollow. So, I decided to pass. It wasn’t until the show started to pick up some…
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…
Recently, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer re-ran an interview I gave to author Tyler Tichelaar about my novel, Enoch’s Device. I wasn’t expecting this, but what a great surprise! In the interview, I provide some insight into the meaning of the book’s title, the role played by the paladins of Charlemagne, and the sequel in the works….
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…
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….
This Saturday I watched the U.S. premiere of The White Queen on Starz, a miniseries based on the Philippa Gregory novel of the same name. The story is set during The War of the Roses, which happened to be the inspiration for George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones. Needless to say, I enjoyed stumbling…
My post from a few weeks ago about Puzzle-like Plots made me think of one of my favorite books in that vein, Thomas Wheeler’s The Arcanum. While I prefer historical-based fiction set earlier in history (especially the Middle Ages), The Arcanum (which is set in 1919) concerns the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish text…
It’s a reference to the art of bookmaking during the Middle Ages. Back then, manuscripts were made from prepared calfskin called vellum or sheepskin called parchment, and making either was an arduous task. First, the skins had to be soaked for days in limewater before they were stretched on a frame and then scraped free of…