Book Review: The Black Count
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss Blurb: "The Black Count is the remarkable true story of the real Count of Monte Cristo – a stunning feat of historical sleuthing that brings to life the forgotten hero...
Book Review: Women Warriors: An Unexpected History
Women Warriors: An Unexpected History by Pamela D. TolerBlurb: Who says women don’t go to war? From Vikings and African queens to cross-dressing military doctors and WWII Russian fighter pilots, these are the stories of women for whom battle was not a metaphor. The...
Book Review: Leadership in Turbulent Times
Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin Blurb: "In Leadership in Turbulent Times, Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson—to show how...
Book Review: The Huntress
The Huntress by Kate Quinn Blurb: "The Huntress tells the story of three people in search of answers: Nina Markova, an ace Russian fighter pilot, is one of Stalin’s infamous Night Witches, the first band of women ever allowed to fly bomber runs during a war. Ian...
Book Review: Priestess of Ishana
Priestess of Ishana by Judith Starkston Blurb: "A malignant curse from the Underworld threatens Tesha's city with fiery devastation. The young priestess of Ishana, goddess of love and war, must overcome this demonic darkness. Charred remains of an enemy of the...
Book Review: “Hag Seed” by Margaret Atwood
Hag Seed by Margaret Atwood The Blurb: Felix is at the top of his game as Artistic Director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival. His productions have amazed and confounded. Now he's staging a Tempest like no other: not only will it boost his reputation, it will heal...
Book Review: Kindred by Octavia Butler
Kindred by Octavia Butler "Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner,...
Book Review: The Confessions of Young Nero
The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George The blurb: "While Nero idealizes the artistic and athletic principles of Greece, his very survival rests on his ability to navigate the sea of vipers that is Rome. The most lethal of all is his own mother, a...
Book Review: The Oni
The Oni by Gordon Linzner "Imprisoned for thousands of years in the hilt of a ceremonial sword, the oni, a hideous Japanese demon, is accidentally released to wreak the havoc of its pent-up fury on an unsuspecting world. All-powerful, immortal, and possessed of...
Book Review: Romanov Empress
The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna by C.W. Gortner Blurb: "Narrated by the mother of Russia’s last tsar, this vivid, historically authentic novel brings to life the courageous story of Maria Feodorovna, one of Imperial Russia’s most compelling...
Book Review: “Burr” by Gore Vidal
Burr by Gore Vidal Vidal is a master of his craft. This novel starts from the point of view of Charles Schuyler, a young law clerk working in the law office of an aged Aaron Burr. His employer inexplicably invites him on a mysterious carriage ride which ends in...
Review: Vikings and Goths
Vikings and Goths: A History of Ancient and Medieval Sweden by Gary Dean Peterson I have a complicated history with Vikings. Until I wrote Twilight Empress, they were blood-thirsty raiders who raped and raided Europe in the middle ages and “discovered” the New...