Category: historical-fiction
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Dissolution by CJ Sansom is the first of seven in his Matthew Shardlake Mysteries series. Set in the mid-16th century, amid the backdrop of the Church Reformation era, we follow lawyer Matthew Shardlake to St. Donatus monastery to investigate the murder of a fellow Commissioner of the King. As usual, nothing is as it seems,…
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Byzantium by Stephen Lawhead is a historical fiction novel which, simply put, is absolutely amazing. Set around 900 CE, it revolves around a group of monks in modern day Ireland. Wanting to present one of their most lavish gifts created to the emperor in Constantinople, a pilgrimage was required. Thus are we introduced to Aidan…
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The Light on Farallon Island by Jen Wheeler is the author’s debut historical fiction novel set on a tiny island thirty miles off the coast of San Francisco. Taking place around the mid 1800s, we follow Lucy Riley on her journey to the island in answer to a teaching post for the few children there.…
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The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister details the fictional account of an all woman crew sent on an arctic expedition over uncharted waters to discover the fate of one man and his now presumed lost boating crew. Set in the mid 1800’s, it highlights how women of the time were afforded less rights than men…
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The Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay is the follow up to Sailing to Sarantium. I was thrilled after having read book one and book two here is every bit enjoyable. The author rarely knows how to disappoint his readers. I had expected this sequel to get more into the court and political intrigue…
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Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay is the first book in the Sarantium Mosaic duo-logy series. This author by now is a legend in my opinion. I’ve read so many of his novels and rarely do I find one that I couldn’t finish altogether. The positive trend continues here with Sailing to Sarantium. Whether…
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A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay is a beautiful novel about choices and how it comes to define who we are. Yes, it’s another one of those novels but when you have one that is written by a veteran author, you just can’t go wrong. In a way, books are like movies to…
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Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is an ambitious fictional novel that spans the course of almost a person’s lifetime when all is said and done. In fact, I was shocked to learn that this was only the first book in a trilogy! Who’d knew building a cathedral was so much work? Well, if…
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Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett is my introduction to the popular British author. Having been recommended to read The Pillars of the Earth due to my interest in suddenly wanting to read a book on political intrigue, I thought I’d start off with one of his less “ambitious” books. At around 400 pages,…
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Angels & Demons by Dan Brown is the second installment in the Robert Langdon saga. After having literally breezing through The Da Vinci Code, I felt it was a long enough hiatus to pick up the next installment. It was offered for a good price and I didn’t exactly get a chance to watch the…
The Mindless Catalog 