Eleanor Guthrie, played by Hannah New, has always been one of my favorite characters on Black Sails. Last season, she sided with Flint, hoping his voyage to return the kidnapped daughter of Charleston’s governor would pave the way for Nassau’s legitimacy. She also betrayed a few people along the way, including her ex-lover, Charles Vane,…
With little time to write this week, I wanted to pass on my thoughts about last week’s season premiere of Black Sails on Starz. The premiere showed a ton of promise for season three. Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard) is on his way to Nassau. Max, Jack, and Anne Bonny are worried about the damaged fortress,…
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…
Winter of 2016 is promising to be a fantastic year for historical and fantasy-themed television. Season 3 of Black Sails is right around the corner, followed by the debut of Season 4 of History’s Vikings. And, in perhaps the most unexpected new addition, MTV, of all networks, has already brought us a surprisingly good adaptation…
At least The Winds of Winter, that is. That was the news this week from George R.R. Martin when he informed fans that the next book in this A Song if Ice and Fire series won’t be released before Season 6 of Game of Thrones. This news confirms that we’ll learn the fate of…
I did not expect this, but the final episode of Da Vinci’s Demons, Ira Deorum, was a true series finale in every respect. Leonardo’s pseudo history came to a fitting end, and Lucrezia’s character arc was finally complete, as was Riario’s – though his was the final twist. Not all questions were answered, but I’m…
Merry Old Saint Nick! I’m taking the week off for Christmas, getting ready to prepare the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a Southern Italian tradition in our home! But I’ll be back before New Year. Until then, I hope you enjoy the holidays! P.S., the above link is to an article about Lidia Bastianich and her…
When I published my post titled 5 Questions Going Into Season 3 of “Da Vinci’s Demons,” I never thought I’d receive a tweet from Tom Riley, who plays Leonardo Da Vinci on the show. Commenting on my post, he wrote: “You will actually get decent answers to all of these.” Heading into the penultimate episode…
With little time to blog today, I thought I’d pass on an interesting article in io9 titled “J.J. Abrams Told Us the Origin Story of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” I’m as excited as anyone for the new film (Episode VII in the Star Wars chronology). And, as a writer, I was fascinated to learn…
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…
I’ve been away from the blog longer than usual this month because I’ve been working hard on the sequel to Enoch’s Device. But since it’s Thanksgiving eve, I’m re-posting my traditional piece on the first Thanksgiving. And I’ve included some menu items from this year’s feast after the post! Growing up, I never paid much attention…