Review: Raiders of the Hidden Ark by Graham Addison

Synopsis: The mystery surrounding the Ark of the Covenant’s location is among the world’s greatest and most enduring. One of the Bible’s most sacred and powerful objects has not been seen for over 2,500 years. The missing Ark has inspired many quests and even a famous film.

Perhaps the most remarkable of the quests to find the Ark is the Parker expedition. Its story seems stranger than fiction and includes aristocrats, poets, psychics, secret cyphers in the Bible, a deadly curse, bribery, gun-running, riots, and madness. It sounds unbelievable but the Parker expedition is real. Rudyard Kipling, who knew several expedition members, wrote ‘Talk of fiction! Fiction isn’t in it’.

In 1908, a Finnish scholar convinced a group of young Englishmen from wealthy and titled families he had uncovered secret cyphers in the Bible showing where the Ark was hidden. They were educated at Eton, had fought in elite units of the British military and socialised with European royalty and rich Americans. One had thwarted an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria, another had helped spark the Boer War, and most of the funding came from the family of one of the richest men to have ever lived in Australia. They headed for Jerusalem on a private yacht to dig for the Ark. With them were a Swiss psychic, a Finnish poet, and a Swedish captain who had experienced the darkest heart of colonial madness in the Belgian Congo.

During the course of their years of digging for the Ark the Parker expedition unwittingly ‘scattered sparks in the religious tinder-heap’ that is Jerusalem. Its impact still has echoes today. They caused riots and disorder resulting in headlines around the world and a parliamentary enquiry.

Previously untold in English in its entirety, Graham Addison has uncovered many new details during his research. He skilfully weaves these together in the amazing story of the individuals who sailed on a private yacht bound for Jerusalem in 1909 to retrieve the Ark. He examines who the adventurers were, why they went, what really happened while they were in Jerusalem and what happened to them afterwards.

~ ~ ~

About as laborious and tedious as the dig itself and as dry as the earth being dug. I kept putting it aside, not wanting to continue with it - that is how engaged I was. But I dragged myself forward and persevered till the end - but my initial opinion remained unchanged - I should have skipped it from the very beginning!

Review: Blood's Game by Angus Donald

Synopsis: London, Winter 1670. Holcroft Blood has entered the employ of the Duke of Buckingham, one of the most powerful men in the kingdom after the king. It is here that his education really begins. With a gift for numbers and decoding ciphers, Holcroft soon proves invaluable to the Duke, but when he's pushed into a betrayal he risks everything for revenge. 

His father, Colonel Thomas Blood, has fallen on hard times. A man used to fighting, he lives by his wits and survives by whatever means necessary. When he's asked to commit treason by stealing the crown jewels, he puts himself and his family in a dangerous situation - one that may end at the gallows. As the machinations of powerful men plot to secure the country's future, both father and son must learn what it is to survive in a more dangerous battlefield than war - the court of King Charles II.

~ ~ ~

I adore the character of Colonel Thomas Blood - so who could not reciprocate with his offspring!

A riotous adventure at the time of the Restoration of King Charles II (c.1670s). It is the story of both Colonel Thom Blood and his offspring, Holcroft Blood.  Angus Donald's narrative is fresh, exciting and always action-packed; his characters walk on the wild-side of life, and can be both detestable and likeable at the same time.

This is a period I am delving more into as a reader, and one that I am enjoying immensely. This will not be my last foray and I am looking forward to further exploits in the upcoming books - "Blood' s Revolution and Blood's Campaign.

Note: I read and reviewed this for both Goodreads and NetGalley back in 2020 and since then, have added all three books to my own personal library.

Review: Murder in Constantinople by AE Goldin

Synopsis: A gripping, immersive historical murder mystery in which a wayward boy from London's East End is pulled into the hunt for a serial killer on the eve of the Crimean War.

London, 1854. Twenty-one-year-old Ben Canaan attracts trouble wherever he goes. His father wants him to be a good Jewish son, working for the family business on Whitechapel Road, but Ben and his friends, the 'Good-for-Nothings', just want adventure.

Then the discovery of an enigmatic letter and a photograph of a beautiful woman offer an escapade more dangerous than anything he'd imagined. Suddenly Ben is thrown into a mystery that takes him all the way to Constantinople, the jewel of an empire and the centre of a world on the brink of war.

His only clue is three 'The White Death'. Now he must find what links a string of grisly murders, following a trail through kingmaking and conspiracy, poison and high politics, bloodshed and betrayal. In a city of deadly secrets, no one is safe - and one wrong step could cost Ben his life.

~ ~ ~

"Murder in Constantinople" reads like a boys-own-adventure. There are political machinations, espionage, murder, secret societies, travel, war, criminal detection, and a naive hero blundering into situations beyond his abilities.

And if you suspend belief and accept it as such, you will find an enjoyable romp through 19th century Constantinople at the time of the Crimean War - where politics and high society meld, where "everyone from high to low has secrets, all tied together in an invisible web", where conspiracies abound, and a serial killer is on the loose. Can our young runaway find his feet whilst avoid being the target of a secret group of assassins .... only time will tell.!

The first in a new series, the scene setting begins here and once it gets going, the action follows.

Benjamin Wallace - Duck & Cover Series

Even a mushroom cloud has a silver lining.

Join the Librarian and his mastiff as he does his best to make the post-apocalyptic world a better place by protecting the weak,fighting injustice, squaring off against a group of former renaissance fair workers who have established a kingdom in the Rocky Mountains, and so on. 

Can one man make a difference in the face of such murderous cannibals and super smart bears? Probably not.

Visit Benjamin's website for more on this series.

Dirk Cussler - reflections 50 years on

From an article posted in CrimeReads:

In 1973, a paperback thriller was published by Pyramid Press, written by an aspiring writer from Southern California. The book opened with an antiquated World War I German Albatross biplane strafing Brady Air Force Base on the Greek island of Thásos, destroying its fleet of F-105 jet fighters. The attack is disrupted by the arrival of a lumbering PBY Catalina flying boat, whose pilot engages in an unlikely dogfight with the Albatross and somehow prevails. The Mediterranean Caper was the debut novel by my father Clive Cussler, and introduced the indomitable character of Dirk Pitt at the controls of the Catalina, along with his fictional employer, the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA).

Read full article here @ CrimeReads

My first introduction to both Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt was through his third novel, "Raise The Titanic". I needed to do a book report for school, and was definitely not into romance, having been raised with a healthy dose of murder and action adventure. This book still occupies a small corner of my mind even to this day.

Raise The Titanic: The President's secret task force develops the ultimate defensive weapon. At its core: byzanium, a radioactive element so rare sufficient quantities have never been found. But a frozen American corpse on a desolate Soviet mountainside, a bizarre mining accident in Colorado, and a madman's dying message lead DlRK PITT~ to a secret cache of byzanium. Now he begins his most thrilling, daunting mission -- to raise from its watery grave the shipwreck of the century!

Review: The Blazing Sea by Tim Hodkinson

Synopsis: The thrilling new Whale Road Chronicles Viking adventure. Einar and the Wolf Coats venture south, but danger and bloodshed is never far away.

Einar and the Wolf Coats have angered most of the kings of Northern Europe. With England no refuge, their only solution is to set sail across the Whale Road.

A chance encounter with a slave trader leads them to Muslim Spain, but what starts as a joyous homecoming for one of the crew ends in the Caliph's infamous dungeons.

The Mediterranean proves a perilous sea. Byzantine warships roam, armed with liquid fire that can torch man and ship alike. Viking mercenaries and pirate lords alike spill blood for gold or glory.

With a chance to retake his stolen kingdom of Orkney, Einar must first save an innocent life... and risk his own and those of his crew once more.

~ ~ ~

Following adventures in 10th century Brittany, Ireland and Saxon England, Book 8 in the series finds Ulrich and his band of Ulfhednar in sun-soaked al-Andalus, and as prisoners of the Caliphate not long after their arrival. After managing to make their escape, they flee across the Mediterranean Sea, only to find themselves again prisoners ... this time at the mercy of the Byzantines and their deadly liquid (Greek) fire.

The motley band find themselves in the legendary Miklagarad (Constantinople) where Araltes (Harold), a Norwegian Imperial (or Varangian) Guard, makes them an offer they cannot refuse .... infiltrate one pesky pirate island.

Hodkinson's narrative leads Einar and the Wolf Coats on a merry adventure which sees Affreca infiltrate the harem of the pirate king to find the daughter of one of their own. Byzantine plots, pirates, capture and evasion, battles and heroics, Greek fire and gold keep the reader suitably entertained.

Another rollicking story in the legend of Einar and the Wolf Coats that will surely be recounted in the best Skaldic tradition by the fireside!

Review: Sicilian Avengers by Luigi Natoli

Synopsis: A thrilling Sicilian saga about the legendary secret sect purported to be forerunners of the Mafia, translated into English for the first time.

Emerging from the dark streets and subterranean caves of Palermo, the Beati Paoli, masked and hooded, mete out their own form of justice to counter the unfettered power and privilege wielded by the aristocracy. For the voiceless, weak, and oppressed, the Beati Paoli are defenders and heroes.

Reminiscent of a Dumas novel, Sicilian Avengers is a vibrant, atmospheric fresco of early eighteenth-century Palermo. Onto the stage of the ancient city, Blasco da Castiglione, a bold, brash, orphan adventurer, arrives on a quest to discover his origins and seek his destiny. But this fearless, swashbuckling D’Artagnan-esque hero unwittingly gets caught up in a devious and murderous succession plot involving a powerful noble family.

When the Beati Paoli hear about this plot to usurp a rightful inheritance, they spring into action. Their shadowy machinations entangle the charismatic Blasco, who crosses paths with a cast of characters that test his loyalty and resolve in the pursuit of his true identity.

The historical accuracy of the novel is complemented by the most meticulous description of Sicily’s capital city ever written. Action-packed and laced with intrigue and chivalrous duels, Sicilian Avengers is a tale of love and hatred, friendship and betrayal, suffering and retribution.

~ ~ ~

The novel is set in Sicily over a period of about 20 years: 1698 - 1718, when Sicily was under both Spanish and Savoyard rule. Sicily at this time was recovering from an outbreak of plague, a serious earthquake, and frequent attacks from the Barbary pirates.

Sicilian Avengers is the story of the conflict between the evil, greedy and ambitious Don Raimondo Albamonte, a Sicilian aristocrat, and the Beati Paoli, a secret, oft times violent, organization committed to punish Don Raimondo for his various crimes.  A battle of good versus evil.  It is also a family saga with the main protagonist, Blasco de Castiglione, following the standard pathway of the "hero's journey", when events and family truths come full circle.

Reader be warned: this is a lengthy tome, combining two books, both well over 500 pages each. This definitely has to be read as a physical book due to both its size and the cast of characters. The writing style may not be to everyone's tastes - the descriptions are detailed and plentiful. No-one can deny that this novel is not well researched.  I do think it would be more enjoyable to the modern reader with a little bit of diplomatic editing to reduce the size whilst maintaining the overall context. 

Review: City of Woe by AJ MacKenzie

Synopsis: Florence, 1342. A city on the brink of chaos.

Restored to favour at court, King's Messenger Simon Merrivale accompanies an English delegation to Florence, the powerful centre of European finance, to negotiate a loan to offset King Edward III’s chronic debt.

A top secret plot, one to decide the fate of European control.

But the delegation has another purpose: to set up an Englishman, Henry Stapledon, Bishop of Dorchester, as an anti-pope in Rome. If they can succeed, they will undermine the papacy and strike a hammer blow to French support across Europe.

But one devastating betrayal will shatter their hopes.

When disaster strikes, Merrivale finds himself alone, isolated and with a dozen different factions out for his blood. With no way to go but forward, he must plunge back into the seething torrent of Florence’s cutthroat streets, and dangers greater than any he has ever faced before, if he is to survive.

~ ~ ~

The fifth in the series so I do advise reading the first ones prior to this as there is some continuation of the narrative.

In this outing, Simon Merrivale, the King's Messenger is being sent to Florence with two tasks: chase up King Edward III's missing treasury funds from banker Donato de Peruzzi (to whom Edward III owed considerable amounts), and to install Henry Stapledon, Bishop of Dorchester, as an anti-Pope in an effort to undermine the French.

There is plenty of detail to ensure that the reader is captured by the authenticity and complexity of the period. Florence was a city where bankers and merchants replaced the old noble families as the center of power. There had been a revolution of sorts, with a French aristocrat and crusader, Walter of Brienne, assuming Lordship of the Republic. How did this happen - well it seems that since 1339, Florence had been in the grip of a severe economic crisis brought about by immense English debts to Florentine banking houses, and by astronomical public debts incurred in trying to obtain the nearby city of Lucca. The Florentine nobility looked to foreign powers to solve the city's seemingly impossible financial problems. Unfortunately, Walter ruled like a despot and was ousted after less than a year in power, and once again Florence was a city in turmoil.

MacKenzie ensure that there is enough mystery, intrigue, jealousy, betrayal, political and religious machinations to keep the reader suitably engrossed.  For those with a penchant for historical fiction set in the 14th Century, this will not fail to keep you satisfied.

Books in the series:

• A Flight of Arrows
• A Clash of Lions
• The Fallen Sword
• By Treason We Perish

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie

Synopsis: When Thomas Lang, a hired gunman with a soft heart, is contracted to assassinate an American industrialist, he opts instead to warn the intended victim - a good deed that doesn't go unpunished. Within hours Lang is butting heads with a Buddha statue, matching wits with evil billionaires, and putting his life (among other things) in the hands of a bevy of femmes fatales, whilst trying to save a beautiful lady ...and prevent an international bloodbath to boot.

~ ~ ~

Why has it taken me so long to find this tome???

Another one for that genre of "bad guy hero" narrative - this time from actor and comedian Hugh Laurie. Told in first person narrative by the man in the title - gun seller / assassin for hire Thomas Lang - we are taken on a non-stop, oft tongue-in-cheek adventure as Lang tries to right a wrong, save the life of the man he was hired to kill and the life of the damsel in distress, whilst at the same time saving the world under the guise of terrorist from evil villains (ie: businessmen) who are hoping to start WWIII in order to drum up sales.

As Lang laments.... " ... all I was doing - all I'd ever been doing since the whole thing started - was selling guns ..."

It is witty, humourous (in a dry, sartirical sort of way), it is action packed - with action and fabulous one-liners a-plenty - and has a hero intent on doing good under (and in) extreme circumstances - does he get the girl in the end, read on and find out!

Loved every minute of reading this!

Review: The Recruiter by Gregg Podolski

Synopsis: An action-packed debut from Gregg Podolski, The Recruiter is a thrilling and unique adventure through the European underworld.  When bad guys need good help, they call Rick Carter.

He’s a criminal recruiter, searching for contract killers, cyber hackers, gun smugglers, and any other assorted villains-for-hire a European crime boss might need. But, when the family he left behind in New Jersey is caught up in a client’s plot to monopolize the black market, Rick has to save them from two of his own top candidates: deadly assassins known only as Ghost and The Persian.

Fixing his own mess will require a set of skills he doesn’t have—not a problem, as finding qualified help is where he excels. But stepping into action, becoming the hero his family needs, that’s new territory. For a man who’s spent the last ten years being the best at helping the worst, this may be his last chance to do something right.

~ ~ ~

Barely a quarter of the way in, I gave this four stars. It deserves five - what a roller-coaster ride through the murky underworld and the shady world of espionage. The bad guy is the good guy and the villains are suitably bad.

Rick Carter is a recruiter - he lines up "staff" for those who are willing to pay big bucks for a job to be done - no questions asked. However, things go a little awry (understatement) when a new client comes on the scene and makes Rick an offer he cannot refuse. Now Rick must use his skills and contacts to ensure that this new client does not achieve their end game - and it will come at a personal cost.

It is so easy to become invested in Rick's narrative as the tale rockets along - sometimes a break-neck speed - to an inevitable outcome, which is not a a tidy affair at all. The body count is high, the violence oft times gratuitous, the humour suitable dark, the undertones noirish, the action non-stop. For a first novel, the reader could not ask for anything more. Except more!

A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to read a number of books of a similar genre (Truhen, Milford, Johnson, Holmen, Hamdy, and McDonnell). Podolski is in good company and I look forward to reading more.

Review: A Grave For A Thief by Douglas Skelton

Synopsis: England, 1716. The only certainty in a thief’s life… is death.

Christopher Templeton is a lawyer whose conscience troubles him. He knows many of the secrets of The Fellowship, the shadowy group profiting from the civil unrest in the nation, and has intimated to the Company of Rogues that he is willing to share them.

The problem is, he has vanished. Jonas Flynt – thief, gambler, killer – still recovering from a duel with death upon the frozen Thames, is tasked with finding him.

The trail takes him from the dark slums of London to a quiet village in the north of England, where all is not as it seems. But while he hunts for the missing man, someone else may be stalking him… someone with murder in their heart.

~ ~ ~

Honestly, I am loving this series from Skelton. As I have mentioned previously, the timeline is set outside of my usual historical fiction parameters - but I am glad that I have dipped my toe into the Hanoverian period.

Flynt is back, and being sent on another shadowy mission by Charters. Characters from the previous two books make an appearance (so reading the series from the start is a must), and a new character is introduced, who is not unknown to Flynt. A help or hinderance is debtable.

The cat and mouse game is played out in both London and ending in some rural village, where not all is as it seems. Who is hunter and who is prey will be determined at the final customary stand-off (evil versus, well in this instance, good).

For this book, however, Skelton has decided not to draw on an actual historical event for the plotline - however, this does in no way detract from the story at hand. The elements are all there: crime, mystery, espionage, rebellion, revenge - and the tale is deftly spun, entangling the reader in its web.

Overall, this book, like its predecessors, is an enjoyable romp through the underbelly of Hanoverian England, still under threat from those damnable Jacobites. And I for one, am looking forward to more!

Series Reviews:

1. An Honorable Thief

2. A Thief's Justice

Review: An Honourable Thief by Douglas Skelton

Synopsis: 1715. A tale of two cities, and the man caught between them.

The Kingdom is riddled with a rumour. The late Queen Anne supposedly left a secret will promising the nation to her half-brother James – the man the Jacobites call the King Over the Water. With George I now settled on the throne, this document could prove devastating.

Enter Jonas Flynt. Gambler. Thief. Killer. Man of honour. A reluctant member of the Company of Rogues, a shady intelligence group run by the ruthless Colonel Charters, Flynt is ordered to recover the document, using any means necessary. But he is not the only one on the hunt…

The trail takes him from London’s dangerous streets to the dark Edinburgh of his childhood, where Flynt is soon embroiled in a long overdue family reunion, a jail break and a brutal street riot.

Come what may he must uncover the truth, about the crown... and about his own past...

~~~

The backdrop to this series is the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, wherein James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) attempted to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. James II's son and heirs were excluded from the succession by the Act of Settlement 1701, definitively excluding any and all Catholics from the throne. Upon the death (1714) of Anne, daughter of James II, the throne went to her second cousin Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover, whose coronation as George I in October led to rioting in over twenty towns in England. The following year saw more rioting, and in response to these riots, the new Whig majority passed the Riot Act to put down disturbances. This law strengthened magistrates powers and allowed Justices of the Peace to disperse demonstrations without fear of prosecution. In September and early October the government arrested the leading Tories in fear of a Jacobite rising.

There were, however, many in England utterly opposed to George, and chief among them was Queen Anne herself. Strongly Tory, surrounded by Tory ministers sympathetic to James, Anne had always felt guilty about her half-brother's deposition. She favoured autocratic monarchy, and felt that a legitimate Stuart monarch should be on the throne, not some obscure German princeling. She saw James as young and romantic, unlike the boring George, whom she despised. All of these things, combined with the election of successive Tory governments and the growing sympathy for James in Britain, seemed to offer the best hope for Jacobite success.

Skelton uses this sympathy of Anne for her half-brother to create the plotline for the first in his series. Did Anne leave a will naming her half-brother as her successor - and what are the repercussions if such a document was to come to light. Enter the shadowy Colonel Nathaniel Charters and his Company of Rogues; and Charles Talbot, Duke of Shrewsbury and Lord High Treasurer, a life long Catholic who was in secret communication with James after Anne's death. Whose side either of them are on is open for question.

Charters engages Jonas Flynt, a Serjeant in the Company of Rogues, to seek out this document which would endeavour to put the Catholic James on the throne and be used to call the succession of Protestant George into question. But, quite naturally, there are other interested parties who would use this document for their own purposes - which do not necessarily align with Charters et el. We have the biggest villain in London, Jonathon Wyld, Thief-taker General; Madame de Fontaine, member of yet another shadowy organisation, The Fellowship; and Lord Moncrieff, a villainous double-dealer.

In pursuit of this elusive, document, Flynt's foray into Edinburgh sees him reunited with family and old friends, but also set against new enemies, however betrayal, treachery and murder soon take centre stage as a family secret comes to light.

Skelton does well to convey the atmosphere of secrecy, betrayal and rebellion that permeated the lives of those not only in England but also Scotland, where politics was not just based upon party and family lines but religion as well.

I am looking forward to the next in this historical fiction crime series.

Read in 2022.

Review: Hawker and the King's Jewel by Ethan Bale

Synopsis: Three outlaw knights. Three secrets. One last mission.

August 1485. The eve of the Battle of Bosworth. King Richard III summons his loyal and grizzled retainer, Sir John Hawker, and charges him with one final mission. After the battle, he must return a priceless ruby – one of the mysterious Tears of Byzantium – to its giver, the Doge of Venice. Richard believes the jewel has brought ill luck to his family, and wants rid of it before anything else can go wrong. Hawker is also sworn to protect Richard’s newly knighted bastard son, an arrogant youth unaware of his true parentage. But Richard’s commands are overheard by a Tudor spy.

When the king falls in battle, Hawker, his royal bastard, and another “lost” knight make common cause and flee the field with Tudor agents in hot pursuit of both the ruby and the potential Plantagenet heir. Not knowing who to trust and with England falling under the grip of Henry VII, Hawker and his small Yorkist band take the only course left open: Venice, with all its conspiracies – and the love Hawker left behind there...

~~~

Mercenary veteran Sir John Hawker escapes the bloody battlefield of Bosworth, charged by the late King Richard III, to return a jewel, previously held in possession of the Yorkists' kings, to the Doge of Venice. The pathway from Bosworth to Venice, unfortunately is never easy - the compass does not always point north. And along the way, the motley group of exiles and spies are beset by drama and betrayal. Their quest is hardly the secret they think it is, as enemies and allies alike want the jewel for themselves and their own purposes.

This first in a series gets off to a great start, as the main characters establish themselves across the pages. Bale provides plenty of historical detail that conveys the reader along on the journey. The reality of these perilous times is evident - Bale has done his due diligence.

I am looking forward to the next in this series.

Read in 2022

Review: The Bear's Blade by Tim Hodkinson

Synopsis: How do you defeat the undefeatable?

935 AD, Norway. Recovering from horrendous injuries, Einar finds himself unable to fight. He is not strong enough to defeat his rival, Eirik, who has seized Orkney despite Einar being the rightful Jarl.

Eirik's men soon raid the Norwegian coast, led by a warrior called the Bear. Cruel and ferocious, the Bear possesses a legendary blade – one that gives him a skill in battle that cannot be matched. Such an extraordinary sword could be key to Einar's plans – but first he and the Wolf Coats must contend with the Bear himself.

Caught between old foes and new ones, Einar must use all his wits to survive. But is a man who cannot wield a sword capable of being a true Viking warrior?

Book Five in the Whale Road Series ... and it doesn't disappoint. Wounded from a dual with his father, and unable to defeat his rival and nemisis, Einar realises that the ".. powers of chaos are loose ...". Separated from the Wolf Coats, Einar must heal and adapt in the face of Viking onslaughts that gives rise to a new terror - The Bear!.

Einar soon realises that this mighty warrior wields a sword more powerful than the Wolf Coats own Ulfberht sword - and to discover the secret of this powerful weapon, Einar must become a cuckoo in the nest of the Bear! Meanwhile, Eirik Bloodaxe is still a thorn in the side of the Wolf Coats - and vice versa. Eirik's queen Gunnhild will stop at nothing to see her husband secure on the throne of Orkney even if this means performing a sacred ritual and sacrifice.

Once again, the tension mounts with the increase in action, as our motley band of warriors hurtle towards their inevitable confrontation with Eirik - will they prevail, will Einar resume the path of the warrior? All we know for sure is that the Wolf Coats will live to fight another day .... afterall, it's hard to keep a good band of warriors down!

Review: The Lawless Land by Boyd & Beth Morrison

Synopsis: Canterbury, 1351. Excommunicated knight Gerard Fox is a battle-hardened warrior whose ancestral home was unjustly taken from him. Now, he roams across the known world of Europe looking for work as a man-at-arms. Equipped with only his Damascus-steel sword and war bow, Fox takes out tyrannical and dishonorable men in a land still blighted by the Black Death.

In his ongoing crusade to deliver justice, Fox comes to the aid of Lady Isabel, who is fleeing from her brutal betrothed. But she hasn't told him the whole story. Isabel is guarding a priceless holy relic. One many men would kill for.

Fox and Isabel soon find they are being chased across the continent and try to evade those who seek the relic. But as more assassins close in, Fox realizes they will stop at nothing to possess the sacred treasure that Isabel has sworn to protect...

The premise: a Knight Templar, a damsel in distress, a priceless relic, a pursuit, a villain, redemption. All of which make for an entertaining read.

It is the late 14th century - France and England are in the midst of what is referred to as The Hundred Years War; the deathly spectre of plague walks the land; and no-one is safe from landless marauders returning from the war. Into this we find Gerard Fox on his own personal mission, when confronted by a runaway carriage, being hotly pursued - should he interfere or not. Well, of course he does!

From this point onward, Gerard's own mission takes a back seat as he puts all his energy into ensuring this luckless lady achieves her end by placing a priceless relic, kept safe through a long female custodial chain, in the hands of one of the links. Along the way, Gerard and the lady are pursued by a shady French Cardinal and his agent, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the relic, whilst the lady's erstwhile and rather dangerous, jilted fiance is also in hot pursuit with his own agenda. Gerard enlists the aid of old friends as the Templar and lady make their way from England over to France. There are captures and escapes aplenty, tournaments, disguises, deceptions and impersonations, which culminates in a trial by combat between hunter and hunted.

The tension builds as we travel ever closer to our destination, and the narrative takes the reader along for a most exciting ride. A well researched story that captures and holds the imagination and attention of the reader. A series ...... one is left wondering.

Review: No Light Without Shadow by Luke Gracias

Synopsis: On 06/06/06, the world’s population crossed 6.66 billion. Any further increase could only occur at the cost of other species and future generations.

This triggered the Devil’s Game. A Treasure Hunt for the twelve missing pages of the Devil’s Bible, which hold the Devil’s Prayer. A game designed for Jess Russo, the daughter of the Devil, to unleash Armageddon. Each page Jess finds encourages people to be selfish. To hoard for themselves and theirs, wiping out every chance future generations and all other species have of survival. Only her elder sister Siobhan can stop her, by finding the pages of the Devil’s Prayer hidden across the globe before Jess does.

When the bells of Amalfi Cathedral toll twelve repeatedly one night, Inspector Luca Reginalli races to find four ancient frescoes and a note in a jade sarcophagus. The cryptic note offering the Twelfth Page of the Devil’s Prayer in exchange for Siobhan goes viral. The treasure hunter Siobhan becomes the hunted.

From the Templars of Tomar to the Doomsday Chest in London, from the Tomb of Amir Temur to the Shadowless Pagoda of Wuhan, Siobhan and Reginalli follow the trail of carnage left by each page of the Devil’s Prayer.

Can they save the world from its own destruction?

Firstly please read The Devil's Prayer first and foremost as this is the sequel and makes numerous references to the first.

This is essentially the story of the survival - the survival of mankind, of the environment, of faith, of life on earth in all its form. And it preempted by a game - a battle of wits - between good and evil, light and dark, the emissaries of God and the Devil in the form of two sisters (Siobhan and Jess) and the respective mysterious religious factions that support them in their quest.

Codex Gigas

Their quest: find the twelve missing pages of the Devil's Bible - the Codex Gigas - that make up the Devils Prayer which will either save or destroy mankind, depending on who is holding the majority of the pages. The sisters' quest will take them from their hometown in Australia throughout Europe and Asia ... the path to the pages of the Devil's Prayer was littered by a trail of dead bodies ... such was the determination of each faction to take possession.

There is an abundance of research that went into the narrative, which I always appreciate when historical and religious overtones merge and meld with modern fiction. It will provoke thought and discussion and argument but ultimately the message is quite clear - the earth is the only thing we all have in common.

Review: A Time For Swords by Matthew Harrfy

Synopsis: Lindisfarne, AD793. There had been portents – famine, whirlwinds, lightning from clear skies, serpents seen flying through the air. But when the raiders came, no one was prepared. They came from the North, their dragon-prowed longships gliding out of the dawn mist as they descended on the kingdom's most sacred site.

It is 8th June AD793, and with the pillage of the monastery on Lindisfarne, the Viking Age has begun.  While his fellow monks flee before the Norse onslaught, one young novice stands his ground. He has been taught to turn the other cheek, but faced with the slaughter of his brothers and the pagan desecration of his church, forgiveness is impossible.

Hunlaf soon learns that there is a time for faith and prayer... and there is a time for swords.

Anglo Saxon England

Germanic tribal migrations into Britain began about the middle of the 5th century, and according to the 6th-century British writer Gildas, were invited by a British king to defend his kingdom against the Picts and Scots. Archaeology, however, suggests a more complex picture showing many tribal elements, contacts, revolts, use of mercenaries and local resistance.  By the end of the 7th century though divided into several kingdoms, there was a sense of "unity" that was eventually strengthened when all kingdoms south of the Humber acknowledged the overlordship of a single ruler, known as a bretwalda, a word first recorded in the 9th century.  The Christian Church provided another unifying influence, overriding political divisions, although it was not until 669 that the church in England acknowledged a single head.

Anglo Saxon Religion

The word pagan is a Latin term that was used by Christians in Anglo-Saxon England to designate non-Christians. There is no evidence that anyone living in Anglo-Saxon England ever described themselves as a "pagan" or understood there to be a singular religion, "paganism", that stood as a monolithic alternative to Christianity.  There was no neat, formalised account of Anglo-Saxon pagan system of worship, which focused around a belief in deities and  a variety of other supernatural entities which inhabited the landscape; and that there was clear diversity even among the pre-Christian belief systems.  Martin Carver stressed that in Anglo-Saxon England, neither paganism nor Christianity represented "homogenous intellectual positions or canons and practice"; instead, there was "considerable interdigitation" between the two.

Celtic Christianity

This was a term which broadly referred to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages. Some writers have described a distinct Celtic Church uniting the Celtic peoples (of Cornwall,Man, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, northern England) and distinguishing them from the Roman Church, while others have classified it as simply a set of distinctive practices occurring in those areas ..... such practices being a distinctive system for determining the dating of Easter, a style of monastic tonsure, a unique system of penance, and the popularity of going into "exile for Christ".

Kingdom of Northumbria

The Anglo-Saxon countries of Bernicia and Deira were often in conflict before their eventual semi-permanent unification in 654. Political power in Deira was concentrated in the East Riding of Yorkshire, which included York, the North York Moors, and the Vale of York. The political heartlands of Bernicia were the areas around Bamburgh and Lindisfarne, Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, and in Cumbria, west of the Pennines in the area around Carlisle. The name that these two countries eventually united under, Northumbria, may have been coined by Bede and made popular through his Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

Æthelred I was the king of Northumbria from 774 to 779 and again from 790 until he was murdered in 796. His reigns were noted for the fierce rivalry for the throne, and the relative ease in which reigning monarchs has no compunction about removing rivals ... permanently. When Lindisfarne was sacked by the Vikings, Alcuin wrote letters to Æthelred, blaming the event on the sins of Æthelred and his nobility.

Lindisfarne Monastery

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne, commonly known as either Holy Island[ or Lindisfarne, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important centre of Celtic Christianity under Saints Aidan of Lindisfarne, Cuthbert, Eadfrith of Lindisfarne and Eadberht of Lindisfarne.   Lindisfarne was also the home of the famous Gospels, thought to have been the work of Bishop Eadfrith (dc.721), and belived produced in honour of the great northern saint, Cuthbert.  In 875, after enduring eight decades of repeated Viking raids, the monks fled Lindisfarne, carrying the relics of Saint Cuthbert with them. It was post Norman conquest of England, that a priory was reestablished.

Raid on Lidisfarne

The earliest recorded planned Viking raid on Lindisfarne occurred  6 January 793 (source is the Anglo Saxon Chronicle):

A.D. 793. This year came dreadful fore-warnings over the land of the Northumbrians, terrifying the people most woefully: these were immense sheets of light rushing through the air, and whirlwinds, and fiery, dragons flying across the firmament. These tremendous tokens were soon followed by a great famine: and not long after, on the sixth day before the ides of January in the same year, the harrowing inroads of heathen men made lamentable havoc in the church of God in Holy-island, by rapine and slaughter. 

According to the 12th-century Anglo-Norman chronicler Symeon of Durham, the raiders killed the resident monks or threw them into the sea to drown or carried them away as slaves – along with some of the church treasures.

A.D. 794. ...... Ethelred, king of the Northumbrians, was slain by his own people ...... In the meantime, the heathen armies spread devastation among the Northumbrians, and plundered the monastery of King Everth at the mouth of the Wear [Jarrow]. There, however, some of their leaders were slain; and some of their ships also were shattered to pieces by the violence of the weather; many of the crew were drowned; and some, who escaped alive to the shore, were soon dispatched at the mouth of the river.

This represented one of the last raids on England for about 40 years. The Vikings focused instead on Ireland and Scotland.

This then is the world in which this coming of age / hero's journey adventure is set - 8th Century England or rather, Northumbria as the idea of a united England was still to come.  In this version of the hero's quest, a young monk, Hunlaf, struggles with his identity in the face of Viking incursions - is he " ... a warrior in the clothes of a monk ... ".  He even begins to question his religion, asking "... where was God when his flock had been violated and murdered? ...".

This is the first in a series, which the author himself says, pays homage to that great underdog film "The Magnificent Seven". Here we have a motley crew of warriors drawn from all corners of the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic world, who must pit themselves against the might of the Vikings.  Again, as in "The Magnificent Seven", each warrior much prove themselves worthy to join by feats of skill with the weapon of choice. And throughout, we follow the transition of the young, naive monk into a stout warrior.

The narrative is told in the first person of Hunlaf, who is looking back over his life, whilst penning what will become known as the Annals of Hunlaf of Ubbanford.

The Anglo-Saxon period is well known to Harffy, whose "Bernicia Chronicle" series is set in this time, so there is no doubt that he had on hand a dearth of information from which to craft his tale.

I am sure that readers of Bernard Cornwell, Edoardo Albert, Robert Low, Giles Kristian, Tim Hodkinson would enjoy this. And quite possibly fans of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" or Umberto Eco's "Name of the Rose".

Review: The Wolf Hunt by Tim Hodkinson

Synopsis: When you can't protect everyone, who will you save?

AD 935. Einar Unnsson is destined to be great. He has already defeated the men sent to kill him by his father, Jarl Thorfinn, the 'Skull Cleaver'. Einar has a gift that makes him lethal in battle, a gift he needs now more than ever.

Jarl Thorfinn is set on vengeance. Einar's mother, Unn, was once Thorfinn's favourite bedslave and when she escaped, it was a humiliation he never forgot. Whilst he attempts to supplant the Irish throne, Thorfinn sends his Galdr Man to Iceland on an assassination mission.

Unaware that his mother's life is on the line, Einar spends his exile with the Wolf Coats, a band of fearsome, bloodthirsty warriors. Convinced the fates have turned against them, the Wolf Coats embark on a wild journey, desperate to lift the curse. Yet no amount of Wolf Coats, curse remedies or even Einar's special gifts will help, if Einar can't use them to save Unn's life...

OMG!  "A fast-paced, action-packed historical fiction novel" is an under-statement!  This is yet another page-turning adventure featuring our rag-tag bunch of warriors as they constantly jump out of the frying pan and into the oven before making a final last stand worthy of "The Magnificent Seven" or "Zulu".

Úlfhéðnar

Author, Tim Hodkinson weaves his spell so intricately that you are drawn in before you know it - and pages and hours have passed in no time at all. The story is so compelling that the reader finds themselves as part of this warband as they traverse 10th century Norway on their quest for revenge and redemption. 

Norway is under the reign of Eirik Bloodaxe, whose brothers are intent on raising rebellion - it is a bloody power struggle where the prize is the throne. Add to this, the battle for religious supremacy between the prevailing pagansim of the Vikings and the new religion - Christianity.

This third chapter must be read following the other two - Odin's Game and The Raven Banner -in order - as many of the characters and events referenced will flow more easily for the reader. I do hope that Tim will continue this saga of his own as this is a series worth investing in!

I would suggest tacking down the existing Sagas - they make for fascinating reading! A good starting point is the Viking Society for Northern Research.

January Book Bargains - Part II

So another book sale just happened to be on this weekend, so I did a drive by and stopped in.

Managed to pick up these offerings:

I also managed to pick up a 1944 paperback copy of Graham Greene's "A Gun For Sale" - it was in okay condition - a little bit of damage to the cover but otherwise in good nick for its age - I couldn't resist anyway - my cover looks like this one below - and had a price tag of 1'6.

Historical Fiction - Ancient Egypt

Selection of historical fiction titles set in ancient Egypt:

The Forgotten Pharaoh - David Adkins

The ancient civilisation is enjoying unprecedented prosperity during the 18th Dynasty under some of Egypt’s most famous Pharaohs – Ahmose I, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. But every empire has its rivals – here the Hittites, the Mittani, Nubians and Assyrians – and every royal family its enemies. Smenkhkare is the youngest son of Amenhotep III and brother to Akhenamun – later to become the ruler Akhenaten – and Thutmose, plus three older sisters. The Forgotten Pharaoh, explores the extraordinary and dangerous life and times of a real but little known figure from history – from his child-marriage to exile and then reinstatement in Thebes as pharaoh of one of the most influential dynasties of the ancient civilised world.

The Lost Pharaoh Chronicles - Lauren Lee Merewether

Salvation in the Sun 

Amidst a power struggle between Pharaoh and the priesthood of Amun, Queen Nefertiti helps the ill-prepared new Pharaoh, Amenhotep, enact his father's plan to regain power for the throne. But what seemed a difficult task only becomes more grueling when Amenhotep loses himself in his radical obsessions. Standing alone to bear the burden of a failing country and stem the tide of a growing rebellion, Nefertiti must choose between her love for Pharaoh and her duty to Egypt in this dramatic retelling of a story forgotten by time.

Secrets in the Sand

The power struggle for the throne should have ended long ago, yet it rages onward, shrouded in conspiracy and murder. Pharaoh Akhenaten's plan to regain power from the priesthood of Amun is done, but his religious zeal has stripped the economy and the people’s morale. Whisperings of rebellion fill the streets as enemies close in on Egypt’s borders, leaving Nefertiti to fend off political wolves as she attempts to stabilize the nation and keep her crown.

Valley of the Kings - Terrance Coffey

In the year 1355 BCE, the land of Egypt was the superpower of the known world. King Tut's father, Akenaten, the so-called 'heretic pharaoh,' and his wife, Queen Nefertiti, are on the verge of catapulting Egypt into a revolution that will forever divide its people and rip the most powerful empire on the earth from its foundation. Inspired by the actual Hittite and Amarna letters of 14th century BCE, 'Valley of the Kings: The 18th Dynasty' is an epic novel of intrigue, passion, and betrayal, resurrecting the thrilling story of a singular leader whose beliefs were both visionary and disastrous.

The Beadnet Dress - Mark Garjewski

Set during the building of King Khufu’s great pyramid, between the years 2571 and 2566 BC, The Beadnet Dress is the story of the seamstress Maetkra, the 167th person to bear a sacred talisman given her family by the falcon god nearly three thousand years earlier, detailing her rise from worker in King Khufu’s pyramid village to become a member of his court, and her subsequent fall. And it’s the story of Ahmes, the man Maetkra loves, low-born on an estate in the Nile delta, his life caught up in and shaped by royal machinations beyond his control.

Beauty of Re - Mark Garjewski

The story of Neferure, the Beauty of Re, caught in the struggle for control of New Kingdom Egypt between her mother, Hatshepsut, and her half-brother, Thutmose III, and the subsequent creation of the world’s first empire.

Pharaoh's Daughter - Julius Lester

Born into slavery, adopted as an infant by a princess, and raised in the palace of mighty Pharaoh, Moses struggles to define himself. And so do the three women who love him: his own embittered mother, forced to give him up by Pharaoh's decree; the Egyptian princess who defies her father and raises Moses as her own child; and his headstrong sister Almah, who discovers a greater kinship with the Egyptian deities than with her own God of the Hebrews. Told by Moses and his sister Almah from alternating points of view, this stunning novel by Newbery Honor-author Julius Lester probes questions of identity, faith, and destiny.

The First Dynasty Series - Lester Picker

The First Pharaoh retells the story of Narmer and his epic journey, seen through his eyes and those of his Chief Scribe, the shaman Anhotek. Book I of The First Dynasty Series, The First Pharaoh gives us an understanding of the culture Narmer lived in and shaped, the battles he fought to unite his people, the woman he loved and nearly lost, the enemies even in his own court who plotted against him, and his many successes and painful failures. Above all, we see how Narmer’s loving relationship with Anhotek defined his personal vision for his country and its people.

The Dagger of Isis traces the life of Meryt-Neith, the first female ruler of a united Egypt. From her marriage to King Wadjet to her eventual coronation after his death, this tale of intrigue and betrayal follows her ascension, the wars she fought and the loves that gave meaning to her life. This saga takes us on a journey throughout ancient Egypt and into nearby lands, as Meryt-Neith struggles to bring honor to her family's dynasty.

With the sudden death of his father, 16-year old Qa'a is thrust onto the throne, unprepared for rule. He is at the mercy of the cunning Chief Priest, Khenemet and his evil disciple. A chance meeting with a successful trader, Nomti, creates a friendship that brings glory to the Two Lands. But Qa'a's missteps bring the newly unified country to war. Unrest follows as the underground leaders of Lower Kem foment a rebellion that challenges King Qa'a's rule.

The Price of Nofret's Nose - SR Anand

When Idut, the Lord and Master of the Amaat Household, falls to his death at the Net-uri quarry, his younger brother Lumeri witnesses something that leads him to believe that Idut's death wasn't an accident. Back in Memphis, Idut's lovely young wife struggles to overcome her own dark fears, while his blind mother who is mostly confined to her chambers, hears and knows everything that goes on in the house.  His quest to find justice for his brother takes Lumeri to the ancient city of Qift, where he learns an incredible truth that devastates him, but the dark reign of evil is just beginning.

Khu - Jocelyn Murray

In a land steeped in myth and superstition, a raid on a small village leaves a young boy, Khu, its only survivor. Fate paves a strange and mystical path through dark and uncertain times, when the split powers of Upper and Lower Egypt compete for sovereignty over a realm plagued by instability, rebellion and fear. In this tale of virtue, vice and valor, the destiny of a divided nation is inextricably linked to that of the boy Khu, in the struggle to restore Egypt to a unified and glorious kingdom.

Queen of Egypt - Kylie Quinlan

Ankhesenamun needs to produce an heir to the throne -- quickly. Pharaoh Tutankhamun is young and weak. His chief advisors are planning his quiet removal and Ankhesenamun hopes to hold them off by producing an heir who can become a stronger Pharaoh.  When Pharaoh's advisors move the court from the desert city of Akhetaten back to ancient Memphis, Ankhesenamun is thrown into a new world of danger, secrets, and old gods. 

The Mask of Ra - PC Doherty

A compelling and dramatic novel set against the background of Egypt's eighteenth dynasty--a time of great change, as warlike Pharaohs fought to control not only the tribes on their western and southern borders, but to bring their subjects firmly under their rule.

The Mummifiers Daughter - Nathaniel Burns

The Mummifier's Daughter carries us back to a land steeped in gods, god-kings, ritual and magic. It paints for the reader a detailed picture of Pharaonic Egypt in all its shadowed glory. Faithfully recreating one of the most remarkable eras in Egypt’s history, bestselling author Nathaniel Burns weaves a shudderingly ominous tale of ancient Egypt’s mysteries with a cast of characters the modern reader will recognize even though millenia have passed.

There are ten titles in the series:The Mummifier's Daughter, Princess of Egypt, the Curse of Anubis, Secret of the 7th Scarab, the Forgotten Papyrus, the Prince of Nubia, the Tenth Plague, Mystery of the Temple, Pharaoh's Gold, the Trader's pact

In Maat's Service - Kathrin Bruckmann

Hori and his fellow students celebrate their graduation from medical school. In a bar brawl, he accidentally kills the vizier's eldest son. For punishment, the king renders an unusual verdict: life in the service of the dead at the weryt, the walled-off embalming compound.

There are three in the series: Apprenticed to Anubis; Shadows of the Damned; the Bitter Taste of Death 

Murder by the Gods - William Collins

Narmer, the son of the Scorpion King, has become the first ruler of a united Egypt and founder of the country's First Dynasty. He has succeeded in uniting the peoples of Upper and Lower Egypt but is now under attack by forces unknown. When he suddenly collapses after receiving a mysterious threat from the god Seth, the Crown Prince is convinced it is the gods who are trying to kill his family. Prince Horus-Aha solicits the help of his friend Akhom and their quest takes the two young men into an underworld of darkness where they discover the killer may be more human than they had been led to believe

Gods of the Desert Winds - William Collins

The Followers of Set, god of darkness, threaten the royal family as the young warriors join the Army of the North's advances into the northern desert of Zin. Rumors of hidden gold lead Ako and the king's army to a mysterious mountain, whose summit breathes fire and mysterious gods of the winds disturb earth and sky. (sequel to Murder by the Gods)

Murder at Abu Simbel - William Collins

At Abu Simbel in ancient Egypt, death lurks beneath the giant statue of Rameses. Returning from a lion hunt, Prince Meren and his brother stop at the new temple worksite and discover the body of the Chief Architect. Meren suspects Kashta, the Nubian who had been their guide. 

Death Beneath the Sphinx - William Collins

In the land of the Pharaohs, the Sphinx keeps watch. Stretched out over the hot sands, it protects the great pyramid and Pharaoh Khufu's memory.For 5,000 years it has kept its secrets. Until now At midnight, in the new temple below it, two young men set in motion a murder that will shake the foundation of the court.

Murder in Pharaoh's Palace - William Collins

Shepseskaf, a young Egyptian physician, rescues a small kitten from drowning and in doing so, saves a kingdom. Little Miu changes not only his life, but also the lives of everyone he knows and loves. Following an emergency call to Pharaoh’s palace, Shep finds himself in a mysterious and dangerous adventure. His cat accompanies him on his travels even to crime scenes where for reasons known only to her, important clues end up in her traveling basket. It is a tale filled with romance and danger in the glorious days of Ancient Egypt.

The Forgotten Prince - Monika Mangal

At the beginning of King Seti's third regnal year, the aspiring architect in the making Siamun sets out from his hometown Iunu in order to join the royal architects. In doing so, he hopes to make the most of his exceptional talent and the knowledge he has acquired during his studies in the temple of Ra. While Siamun pretends to be the son of a lesser architect, he anxiously guards the secret of his true parentage which must never be unravelled.