Category Archives: Reviews

Ender’s Game

Posted on May 7, 2015 by smellincoffee

Ender’s Game © 1985 Orson Scott Card384 pages             Andrew Wiggin is only a young boy, but in the eyes of his world’s leaders, he may be humanity’s only hope.  Decades ago, Earth was ravaged by invasions of swarming insect-like creatures … Continue reading →

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The Fall of Saxon England

Posted on May 7, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Fall of Saxon England© 1975 Richard Humble242 pages History never rests. In the middle of the first millennium, the great tide of the Roman Empire began at last to recede. Its legions stationed in distant reaches of the realm, … Continue reading →

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The Copperhead

Posted on May 5, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Copperhead© 1893 Harold Frederic108 pages War can destroy a city without the first shell falling on it. Such was nearly the fate of Four Corners, New York, a small farming community in its upper reaches. Far removed from the … Continue reading →

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Faith and Treason

Posted on May 2, 2015 by smellincoffee

Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot© 1997 Antonia Frasier384 pages        Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot….or, as contemporaries called it, the Powder Plot.   Its scale, for the 16th … Continue reading →

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Bachelors Anonymous

Posted on April 29, 2015 by smellincoffee

Bachelors Anonymous© 1973 P.G. Wodehouse191 pages “It is never agreeable for a man who is engaged to one girl and has just proposed to another to find himself in the company of both of them.” Ivor Llewellyn and his lawyer … Continue reading →

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In a Dark Wood

Posted on April 29, 2015 by smellincoffee

In a Dark Wood © 1998 Michael Cadnum 256 pages In a Dark Wood tells the story of Robin Hood, the merry thief of Sherwood Forrest, from the perspective of the sheriff whose peace he breaks. Sir Geoffrey of Nottinghamshire … Continue reading →

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Boudica

Posted on April 22, 2015 by smellincoffee

Boudica: The Life and Legend of Britain’s Warrior Queen© 2006 Vanessa Collingridge390 pages To the Roman mind, the isles of Britain lay in the shadows between the light of civilized Empire and the dark depths of the unknown Oceanus which … Continue reading →

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The Other Queen

Posted on April 18, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Other Queen © 2008 Philippa Gregory 448 pages  Bess of Hardwick has survived three husbands, but her fourth may be too much. Sure, he’s the Lord High Steward, whose family came over on the Norman Mayflower,  but the man’s … Continue reading →

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Joe Steele

Posted on April 16, 2015 by smellincoffee

Joe Steele © 2015 Harry Turtledove448 pages                       What if Joseph Stalin was a Democrat? Imagine that the Man of Steel’s parents had emigrated to the United States before he was born, and that instead of rising to power through … Continue reading →

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Ruled Britannia

Posted on April 13, 2015 by smellincoffee

Ruled Britannia© 2002 Harry Turtledove458 pages 1597. The 16th century is drawing to a close, and with it — seemingly — England’s fortunes. Nine years ago the vast Spanish armada triumphed in delivering its army to English shores, where grim … Continue reading →

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