This is the first in a series of books called "The Chronicles of Time" by this author. The story is set in Upper Germania, at the time of the Roman Emperor Nero. The main character is Graecus, a Roman Centurion of Greek ancestry who commands a century guarding the countryside on the outskirts of the Empire.
Graecus find himself in a number of testing situations when he is ordered to look after a visitor who is high in the Emperor's circle. When Graecus loses good men in an attack on the century's camp, 2 of them caused by the visitor's cowardice, and sees that the visitor's actions have also put Graecus' adopted son at risk, he begins to fear for the future of the Empire should such men be in power in Rome.
When it appears that his adopted son might also be in direct danger from powers in Rome, Graecus decides that the only course he can take is to lie low, be an able soldier and rely on the men he trusts.
Eventually, however, he and his century are called to action. The tribes of Britannia are rebelling against the increasingly harsh regime imposed from far off Rome, and Graecus and his men are sent to reinforce the legions there. On the journey to Britannia Graecus saves the life of a seaman and the effect will have a far reaching effect on his life.
When I began this book, I wasn't at all sure if I was going to get on with it but, as I read on, it began to grow on me. The author knows a lot about this period and has a neat way of teaching the reader without being in the least patronising or burdening the story. The only thing I'm still not sure of how the tale begins. We are in a study or treatment room and the subject is being hypnotised into regression into a past life - Graecus's life. Why this device is being used, I'm not sure but maybe I'll learn in the next book, "The Weight of Time".
This book is published by Derwen Publishing, which is a small publishing house specialising in partnership publishing, so it won't be available in your local library. Buy via Amazon, Ebook or order from your bookseller. ISBN 978-1-907084-00-3.
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
The Prodigal Wife by Marcia Willett
Marcia Willetts has written many books; this is her 19th and the 4th in the Chadwick family chronicles. I don't normally read family chronicle sagas nowadays, having had a surfeit in my youth with the "Jalna" series by Mazo De La Roche and "The Forsyte Saga" by John Galsworthy. Had I realised, when I picked up this one, that it was the 4th in a series, I'd have put it back, preferring to read sequels in the correct order. However, having started to read, I continued.
The Chadwick family have lived at The Keep for several generations. Members of the family leave at various times in their lives but most come back to live as the place is big enough for all who want to live in a family commune. However, when the ex-wife of one of the Chadwicks want to return after bereavement, the son, Jolyon, whom she left behind isn't at all sure that he can accept her change of heart. He has recently begun a relationship of his own, just as his family believed that his mother's abandonment in his childhood had scarred him irreparably. When the girl's mother begins to believe she is being stalked, and suspects it is her ex-husband, life becomes rather complicated.
Ms Willetts weaves the important references from her previous novels about the Chadwicks into this latest story with skill. However, if I'd read the others first, as I should have done and many of her readers will have done, I might find these references to previous stories a bit tedious. This book appears to be set in the 1970s, although there's no direct mention of dates except for some historical detail about the Mau Mau conflict in Kenya, which was in the 1950s. As a 1970s setting, it feels a little out of touch with life at that time apart from a certain sexual freedom, which I found a bit odd.
Still, for lovers of family sagas it's OK.
The Chadwick family have lived at The Keep for several generations. Members of the family leave at various times in their lives but most come back to live as the place is big enough for all who want to live in a family commune. However, when the ex-wife of one of the Chadwicks want to return after bereavement, the son, Jolyon, whom she left behind isn't at all sure that he can accept her change of heart. He has recently begun a relationship of his own, just as his family believed that his mother's abandonment in his childhood had scarred him irreparably. When the girl's mother begins to believe she is being stalked, and suspects it is her ex-husband, life becomes rather complicated.
Ms Willetts weaves the important references from her previous novels about the Chadwicks into this latest story with skill. However, if I'd read the others first, as I should have done and many of her readers will have done, I might find these references to previous stories a bit tedious. This book appears to be set in the 1970s, although there's no direct mention of dates except for some historical detail about the Mau Mau conflict in Kenya, which was in the 1950s. As a 1970s setting, it feels a little out of touch with life at that time apart from a certain sexual freedom, which I found a bit odd.
Still, for lovers of family sagas it's OK.
Broken by A Mackenzie Harris
"Broken" is a contemporary story of a family in crisis. The financial crash of 2008 affects the different members of this family in different ways but all feel its effects and their lives will never be the same again. Arthur and Joyce watch as the situation takes its toll on their sons and daughter until the spiralling downturn has a devastating effect on them as well.
We see how the characters either rise to the challenge or give way to blame, anger, despair and desperation. Incomes dry up, esteem is lost, suspicions arise and relationships fracture. Even murder is contemplated. But this is a story of human drama - an ordinary family - rather than a thriller, so we can identify with the characters as they are driven to desperate measures.
"Broken" is this author's first novel and is worth reading. She will, I'm sure, improve as her writing career develops and I look forward to the next book. This one is published by Matador, ISBN 978-1-7806-029-0. Matador is a small publisher specialising in partnership publishing so this book isn't available in your local library. If you want to buy, order through your local book shop, Amazon or as an Ebook.
We see how the characters either rise to the challenge or give way to blame, anger, despair and desperation. Incomes dry up, esteem is lost, suspicions arise and relationships fracture. Even murder is contemplated. But this is a story of human drama - an ordinary family - rather than a thriller, so we can identify with the characters as they are driven to desperate measures.
"Broken" is this author's first novel and is worth reading. She will, I'm sure, improve as her writing career develops and I look forward to the next book. This one is published by Matador, ISBN 978-1-7806-029-0. Matador is a small publisher specialising in partnership publishing so this book isn't available in your local library. If you want to buy, order through your local book shop, Amazon or as an Ebook.
The Shieldwall by MJ Hands
This story is based in the mid-11C; England is a patchwork of warring tribes - Saxons, Vikings, Welsh and others fight for territory. Life is cheap and savage.
Edric is a legendary character from the history of the Saxons living in the borderlands of Shropshire and Wales. When his village is destroyed by Welsh hordes, trying to re-establish their foothold in their tribal lands from before Angle and Saxon invasion, the young Edric and a small handful of survivors hide in the hills. They are taken under the wing of a mysterious old man, who has travelled far and who has settled in the border country waiting for a dream prediction to manifest itself.
Under this stranger's guidance, Edric and his companions grow to manhood skilled in the arts of war until it is time to seek revenge. But nothing lasts for ever and the peace that Edric wins is threatened as the year 1066 dawns.
I enjoyed this book. Well written and researched by an author who is, clearly, passionate about his subject, the period comes alive to the reader from the first page. The book is published by Athena Press, ISBN 978-1-84748-348-5. Athena is a small publisher specialising in partnership publishing, so this book won't be available in your local library. You'll have to order it if you want to buy it, or access through E-reader formats.
Edric is a legendary character from the history of the Saxons living in the borderlands of Shropshire and Wales. When his village is destroyed by Welsh hordes, trying to re-establish their foothold in their tribal lands from before Angle and Saxon invasion, the young Edric and a small handful of survivors hide in the hills. They are taken under the wing of a mysterious old man, who has travelled far and who has settled in the border country waiting for a dream prediction to manifest itself.
Under this stranger's guidance, Edric and his companions grow to manhood skilled in the arts of war until it is time to seek revenge. But nothing lasts for ever and the peace that Edric wins is threatened as the year 1066 dawns.
I enjoyed this book. Well written and researched by an author who is, clearly, passionate about his subject, the period comes alive to the reader from the first page. The book is published by Athena Press, ISBN 978-1-84748-348-5. Athena is a small publisher specialising in partnership publishing, so this book won't be available in your local library. You'll have to order it if you want to buy it, or access through E-reader formats.
Thursday, 8 August 2013
he Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan
This book is marked 'general fiction' by my local lending service but what you get is a something written more in the style of a simple love story. Not quite Mills and Boon but not that far off. It seems that most of the characters have tears in their eyes at every opportunity, that all but 2 of the main characters are kind and gentle and that love conquers all. So far so perfect.
Still, it's not a bad story. In the mid-1930s a young girl, Mary, raped in adolescence, develops a crippling inability to meet and mingle with people. She stays on her father's farm, raising and training horses, until the local heir to a fortune comes by to buy a horse. He wants her as well as the colt and sets out to win her, even if it means overcoming her pathological shyness and suppressing parts of his natural character. They marry, and set up home in a large house, built for them by the young man's grandfather. However, all isn't well in paradise.
The marriage soon falls apart and the aftermath leaves Mary alone in the mansion with only the local priest allowed inside the house. Attempts to integrate Mary into the community fail as her shyness overcomes her. But Mary watches over the town from her mansion and learns about the residents from the priest. Unknown and unseen, she uses her fortune to help where it's needed.
That's about it, really, apart from a neat twist at the end. If you like gentle fiction in the tradition of Maeve Binchy then you'll probably like this. I'll remember it only because I wouldn't have chosen it for myself if I hadn't been misled by the cover blurb.
Still, it's not a bad story. In the mid-1930s a young girl, Mary, raped in adolescence, develops a crippling inability to meet and mingle with people. She stays on her father's farm, raising and training horses, until the local heir to a fortune comes by to buy a horse. He wants her as well as the colt and sets out to win her, even if it means overcoming her pathological shyness and suppressing parts of his natural character. They marry, and set up home in a large house, built for them by the young man's grandfather. However, all isn't well in paradise.
The marriage soon falls apart and the aftermath leaves Mary alone in the mansion with only the local priest allowed inside the house. Attempts to integrate Mary into the community fail as her shyness overcomes her. But Mary watches over the town from her mansion and learns about the residents from the priest. Unknown and unseen, she uses her fortune to help where it's needed.
That's about it, really, apart from a neat twist at the end. If you like gentle fiction in the tradition of Maeve Binchy then you'll probably like this. I'll remember it only because I wouldn't have chosen it for myself if I hadn't been misled by the cover blurb.
The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey
A man walks out of the sea on the New England coast. He's naked, freezing cold - and he can't remember who he is. Finding an empty car a short distance away, he searches it and finds the car's papers which tell him that it's owned by a man called Daniel Hayes, and there's an address on the other side of the country. Pawning the expensive watch he also finds in the car, he uses the funds to drive across the continent. As he travels, he's plagued with flashbacks and bits of memory begin to emerge. He's drawn by a woman's face, seen on the TV of a motel where he spends a night, but which seems to mean something much more.
Slowly, as events progress, the man's memory begins to give up its secrets and he finds himself living a nightmare when he discovers that he is, indeed, Daniel Hayes and that he is the prime suspect in his wife's murder. As he traces people he knows, and tries to solve the crime, friends are threatened and killed by an unknown and unseen assailant. Daniel must find out why, and trap the killer, before he can begin his life again.
Like all good mysteries, there's a twist at the end, just to keep the reader guessing at what might happen after Daniel believes himself to be free.
This is quite a clever story, tightly written with frequent unexpected turns. For readers of mysteries and thrillers this is a good choice.
Slowly, as events progress, the man's memory begins to give up its secrets and he finds himself living a nightmare when he discovers that he is, indeed, Daniel Hayes and that he is the prime suspect in his wife's murder. As he traces people he knows, and tries to solve the crime, friends are threatened and killed by an unknown and unseen assailant. Daniel must find out why, and trap the killer, before he can begin his life again.
Like all good mysteries, there's a twist at the end, just to keep the reader guessing at what might happen after Daniel believes himself to be free.
This is quite a clever story, tightly written with frequent unexpected turns. For readers of mysteries and thrillers this is a good choice.
The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro
Jack Coates has settled for the humdrum life of an auction house valuer. He's in his mid-forties, widowed and reconciled to a quiet life. Until, that is, his boss decides that he needs help on his latest assignment. Cate is his boss's niece, running from an unhappy affair and hiding in London. Not a match made in heaven. The assignment is to catalogue the contents of a large, country house on the coast and prepare them for auction. But it turns out to be more complicated than anyone imagines. Has Cate run far enough? Is Jack still mourning his dead wife? What secrets are they each hiding?
Behind their story we learn about the family that lived in the big house during the Roaring Twenties and 1930s through a series of letters written by the youngest sister, nicknamed Baby, of the house to her older, married sister. Baby disappeared in 1941 and the mystery has never been solved.
As the story of the family begins to obsess Cate, she researches them to try to discover more about their secrets. In the process, her own begin to come to light. How she resolves both is the substance of this story.
There's an underlying purpose to this story that I won't disclose for fear of spoiling the ending for readers but this novel has a neat twist at the end. Gently worded, cleverly interweaving past and present, this story kept me interested right through to the end. For fans of mysteries, love stories and honest story telling, this is one for you.
Behind their story we learn about the family that lived in the big house during the Roaring Twenties and 1930s through a series of letters written by the youngest sister, nicknamed Baby, of the house to her older, married sister. Baby disappeared in 1941 and the mystery has never been solved.
As the story of the family begins to obsess Cate, she researches them to try to discover more about their secrets. In the process, her own begin to come to light. How she resolves both is the substance of this story.
There's an underlying purpose to this story that I won't disclose for fear of spoiling the ending for readers but this novel has a neat twist at the end. Gently worded, cleverly interweaving past and present, this story kept me interested right through to the end. For fans of mysteries, love stories and honest story telling, this is one for you.
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