This week, I’m focusing on mythology – Norse mythology to be precise, the subject of the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: Ragnarok. While the movie does not even attempt to stay true to actual mythology, Neil Gaiman does in his latest release aptly titled Norse Mythology. Here’s my review. Anyone who has…
I’ll be the first to admit that part 2 of Season 4 of Vikings on History snuck up on me. But when I started catching up with the new half-season, I did not realize that Vikings was becoming a prequel to Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom. In fact, it seems, we can credit Ragnar Lothbrok…
Today, Fresh-scraped Vellum is one of the final stops on the blog tour for Written in the Ashes, a wonderful historical fantasy by author K. Hollan Van Zandt. It’s published by Harper Collins and available here. I was also lucky enough to interview Ms. Van Zandt, and that interview follows my review of the novel….
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 loved the season premiere of Vikings on History last week. But after the episode, I began thinking: Has Vikings started to mirror Norse Mythology? How close is Ragnar to his own Ragnarok? For anyone who’s seen the show, Vikings often makes reference to Norse Mythology, which was a primary religion for Scandinavians before their…
When last I left my series on The Magic of Medieval Fiction, we were in the Sixth Century – the age of Beowulf, the subject of one of England’s most famous epic poems. The tale was the inspiration for Michael Crichton’s Eaters of the Dead, and has spawned numerous films, both live and animated. I…
In my reviews of Bernard Cornwell’s The Winter King and Enemy of God, I noted how the character of Merlin is obsessed with recovering the Thirteen Treasures of Britain, which he believes can restore the power of the old Celtic gods. These treasures, which are sometimes called the Thirteen Hallows, feature prominently throughout Cornwell’s The…
My new novel, Enoch’s Device, is now available on Amazon! I have long awaited this day, and I’m grateful to be able to share it with you now. Nearly a thousand years after the birth of Christ, when all Europe fears that the world will soon end, an Irish monk, Brother Ciarán, discovers an ominous warning…
I can finally reveal the cover art for my new novel, Enoch’s Device! The artwork was done by Glendon Haddix of Streetlight Graphics, who was great to work with. The back-cover blurb follows this image of the book’s cover. Nearly a thousand years after the birth of Christ, when all Europe fears that the world will…
A while back, I was doing research on Vikings for my next novel, which will be the sequel to Enoch’s Device. In the course of that research, I spent some time on Norse mythology, since many a tenth-century Viking would have clung to the worship of Thor or Odin instead of embracing the Christian faith…
I’m back from fishing – without any sighting of the Midgard Serpent, I might add – and back to a mountain of work. I had planned on writing a post on why I chose an Irish monk as the main character for my upcoming novel, Enoch’s Device. But since I’ve lacked the time to give that post…