Category Archives: historical fiction

Eagles at War

Posted on September 13, 2021 by smellincoffee

Eagles of Rome: Eagles at War© 2015 Ben Kane448 pages Cast from solid gold, and larger than a man could hold in both hands, the eagle was depicted lying forward on its breast. A golden wreath encircled its almost-touching wings, … Continue reading →

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Traitors of Rome

Posted on August 30, 2021 by smellincoffee

Traitors of Rome© 2019 Simon Scarrow351 pages Young Tribune Cato and his grizzled enlisted mentor Macro have come a long way together, from the dismal bogs of Britannia to the even more dismal desert wastes of the eastern border. Across … Continue reading →

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The Lost Outlaw

Posted on August 22, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Lost Outlaw © 2019 Paul Fraser Collard361 pages For the better part of a year, Jack Lark has been drifting across the war-worn South, working small jobs as he needs and generally avoiding society. For most of his adult … Continue reading →

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The Eagle’s Claw

Posted on July 8, 2021 by smellincoffee

© 2021 Jeff Shaara352 pages Lastly, The Eagle’s Claw, a novel of historical fiction about the Battle of Midway.   Midway was one of the battles of WW2, the turning point of the Pacific War that, six months following Pearl Harbor, announced to Dai … Continue reading →

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Life, liberty, and the pursuit of literature

Posted on July 7, 2021 by smellincoffee

My reading in the last week celebrated or at least observed the memory of, the American Revolution, though the books I picked this year proved to be a mildly disappointing lot. First up was The Return of George Washington, an … Continue reading →

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The Blooding

Posted on April 5, 2021 by smellincoffee

Master of War: The Blooding© 2013 David Gilman512 pages Thomas Blackstone is a free man, a stonemason who learned his trade alongside his deaf-mute brother Richard.  When Richard is accused of raping and killing a young woman,  the price for … Continue reading →

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The Rebel Killer

Posted on April 3, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Rebel Killer© 2019 Paul Fraser Collard432 pages Jack Lark is a defeated man. Soul-scarred after the campaign in northern Italy, he came to the United States desiring nothing but to deliver a letter from a mortally wounded comrade to … Continue reading →

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War Lord

Posted on December 2, 2020 by smellincoffee

War Lord© 2020 Bernard Cornwell352 pages As a boy, Uhtred saw his father and brother slain by an invading enemy, an enemy who took his home from him. Unwilling to turn and run, the boy Uhtred attacked these ferocious warlords … Continue reading →

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The Afghan Campaign

Posted on November 20, 2020 by smellincoffee

The Afghan Campaign: A Novel© 2006 Steven Pressfield 368 pages Afghanistan, 330 B.C. Alexander the Great, having toppled the Persian Empire and won eternal glory for himself and his men, now looks with hungry eyes to India. The way to … Continue reading →

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V-2

Posted on November 19, 2020 by smellincoffee

V-2: A Novel of World War 2 © 2020 Robert Harris320 pages The Wehrmacht is being pushed from western Europe, and the Waffen-SS is reeling in eastern Europe. The Luftwaffe flies no more. And yet Germany fights on, and the … Continue reading →

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