Review of Age of Myth J. Sullivan

 

Review of Age of Myth  by Michael J. Sullivan

 

From the back of the book:

Michael J. Sullivan's trailblazing career began with the breakout success of his Riyria series: full-bodied, spellbinding fantasy adventures whose imaginative scope and sympathetic characters won a devoted readership. Now, Sullivan's stunning hardcover debut, Age of Myth, inaugurates an original five-book series, and one of fantasy's finest next-generation storytellers continues to break new ground.

Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between men and those they thought were gods changes forever. Now, only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer, Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom, and Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over; the time of rebellion has begun. 

 

Leona's Review:

 

This is my first read by Michael J. Sullivan and so I was not familiar with his writings.

It took me some time to get to know the characters but the back of the book has a glossary of terms and names and that was a great help.

 

 

 

This is the first book of the Legends of the First Empire fantasy series.  Age of Myth, Age of Swords, Age of  War, Age of Legends and Age of Empire. The author has written all the books in this series and they will be released "in a timely" manner.

 

The book begins with Raithe and his father approached by a god who demands to know why they are here.   He has two servants with him; one servant, Malcolm, becomes one of the main characters.

 

I have to say this is a hard book to review with so much happening with the different characters, friendship, battles and

 

It is a fantasy book that is well written. I give if a 5 star rating. I will say becuase I usually  do not read these books, I will give it another read before the next book comes out so I am familiar with the characters and happenings. 

Roman Mask by Thomas M. D. Brooke

   

 

Review of Roman Mask by Thomas M. D. Brooke
 

From goodreads.com:

It is Rome AD 9 and Augustus Caesar rules Imperial Rome at the height of its power, as the Roman Empire stretches across the known world. Cassius, son of one of her most powerful families, is the personification of Rome's imperial strength: wealthy, popular, a war hero with a decorated military career - none of Rome's fashionable parties are complete without him - except, he hides a secret. After his nerve is broken in Germany, the thought of genuine armed combat is enough to send him into a cold sweat of fear and shame. But this doesn't dissuade him from living off a false reputation so he can continue a life of casual affairs, wine, and parties, as he is seduced by the many vices of Rome. However his scandalous life is soon upset by a summons from the Emperor's wife. It ends his happy decadent life and returns him to Germany to assist the Roman legions in their greatest ever trial, and the events that will resound down in history, in the dark forests of the Teutoburg.

Leona's Review:

A book about Cassius Aprilis, a son of a wealthy and powerful family. He is considered a war hero with a military career but he holds a secret that bothers him. His life has been one of leisure but it changes when he is summoned by Livia, wife of Princeps Augustus to go back to Germany to assist the Roman legions.

I found this book somewhat slow at the beginning but stayed with it.  A lot of Latin words, names of the characters, battle names and names of places. As a reader, I found myself taking notes and searched for more information.

Roman Mask begins in Rome AD 9 and Augustus Caesar is the emperor at this time. The author also had historical names such as Julius Arminius, Someone who was a German Prince who lived in Rome and was a friend of Cassius, Angrivaril tribesmen who were Germanic of the early Roman Empire, Quintus Varus who was the governor of the new Roman province of Germany and the Teutoburg Forest which was the place of the battle.

There is a historical note at the end of the book. There is a map in the front of the book which is always helpful. I do wish there had been a list of characters in the book.

Thomas M. D. Brooke may be reached at www.thomasmdbrooke.com. There is an interview with him about the book, Roman Mask for one.


For those interested in Roman history or historical places, this is a good read. I won a copy of Roman Mask by Thomas M. D. Brooke from goodreads. The opinions are my own.

I give this book a 5 star rating because of the research and I learned some historical facts.

I also found some good information on  www.historyworld.net:

Review of From This moment by Elizabeth Camden

   

From This Moment by Elizabeth Camden

 

ISBN 10: 0764217216 | ISBN 13: 9780764217210

From http://elizabethcamden.com/books/from-this-moment:

Romulus White has tried for years to hire illustrator Stella West for his renowned scientific magazine. She is the missing piece he needs to propel his magazine to the forefront of the industry.
But Stella abruptly quit the art world and moved to Boston with a single purpose: to solve the mysterious death of her beloved sister. Romulus, a man with connections to high society and every important power circle in the city, could be her most valuable ally.
Sparks fly the instant Stella and Romulus join forces, and Romulus soon realizes the strong-willed and charismatic Stella could disrupt his hard-won independence. Can they continue to help each other when their efforts draw the wrong kind of attention from the powers-that-be and put all they’ve worked for at risk?

Leona's Review:

One of the best Christian Historical books I have read in a long time. This is my first read by Elizabeth Camden and I will definitely read her books again.

The building of the Boston Subway is part of this book and historical happenings. I always like to read of historical events and the author has included many such as the typewriter, gummed envelopes and elevators. I like to research such mentions so I have included some information at the bottom of the review. 

The book is dated March 1897 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Stella has come to Boston to find the killer of her sister, Gwendolyn. The police has declared that she had drowned but Stella knew she was an excellent swimmer. They had been exchanging letters and Gwendolyn had written about corruption in City Hall.

Romulus tries his best to get her to do some drawing for the magazine, Scientific World which is owned by Romulus and his cousin, Evelyn.

Stella agrees to do one project for him if he will help her with connections to City Hall and others. Stella is determined to find why and how her sister died.

 

The book includes special relationships of Stella and Romulus as well as his cousin and her husband, Evelyn and Clyde. The parents of Stella and Gwendolyn also pay an important role in the book.

 

At times, Stella questions her faith in God. Stella sees a photograph of a woman who has lost her husband but went on to do her dream of helping others in India.. "It seemed Mrs. Grosjean peered out of the photograph, straight into the moral failings of Stella's soul. Do you love God only when he is good to you?" (page 245)

 

Stella uses her talent to draw pictures of the "sandhogs". " It was a simple charcoal sketch of three sandhogs working on the street below. One man sat on the edge of the subway trench, and two others leaned against shovels as they took a rest from the backbreaking work. There was a rough dignity to their faces, a strength of character in the musculature of their necks, faces, and strong hands as they held the shovels. It was a tough, gritty work that garnered little respect, yet Stella had imbued them with the dignity and heroism rarely afforded such men. They were men working to forge the future, laying a foundation fro generations to come. Long after these men were dead and buried, their children and grandchildren would be riding on the subway they had built." (page 126)

 

The reading is easy and quick even with so much happening. The reader will find some strong characters in both the men and women.

 

I received a complimentary copy from Bethany House Publishers to read and review. The opinions are my own.

 

I give From This Moment a 5 star rating.

 

Elizabeth Camden may be reached at www.elizabethcamden.com

 

 

Leona Olson

http://www.mnleona.blogspot.com

 

Notes on the typewriter, gummed envelopes and elevators which I found interesting:

 

From: http://ideafinder.com/history/inventions/typrwriter.htm. Finally, in 1867, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin printer-publisher-politician named Christopher Latham Sholes, with assistance from Carlos Glidden and Samuel Soule, patented what was to be the first useful typewriter.

From:http://www.jampaper.com/blog/the-history-of-envelopes/ It wasn’t until the invention of the self-gumming envelope machine that envelope production really took off. A man by the name of James Green Arnold took the envelope folding machine to the next level when he added a brush that would apply the gum to the envelopes seal. This step was previously done by hand.  Unfortunately Arnold’s design was never put into production. It wasn’t until two brothers by the name of  D. Wheeler Swift and Henry Swift took Arnold’s design and perfected it. In 1876 the Swift Chain Dryer Machine was born. One of the main difference in this machine was that it was constructed of metal, not wood, like the Arnold design.


From: https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/03/02/how-elevator-transformed-america/b8u17Vx897wUQ8zWMTSvYO/story.html
It wasn’t until the 1870s, when elevators showed up in office buildings, that the technology really started to leave a mark on urban culture.

 

Review of Rewritng History by Vera Dodge

  

 

 

Review of Rewriting history by Vera Dodge

 

From the back of the book:

Mary’s Mystery Bookshop is hosting a very special guest: beloved mystery author Addison Hartley. Hartley gives an intimate reading to the fans gathered in the story, but Mary’s eyes are drawn not to the famous author but to a familiar face in the crowd. Could it be Mary’s best friend from childhood, Claire Wilkes? As soon as Mary moves to greet her old friend, the woman disappears. Mary is certain it was Claire, but no one else seems to have recognized her and Mary begins to doubt herself. But when Mary reads Hartley’s new novel, she finds eerie parallels to her own history. And when terrible rumors surface around town about a secret relationship between Claire and Mary’s husband John, Mary is more determined than ever to track down Claire. What brought her to Mary’s store? When did she run away? What was her connection to the best-selling novel? And, more importantly, were the rumors about Claire and Mary’s husband true?

 

 

Leona's Review:

 

This is my first read by Vera Dodge and my first read of the Secrets of Mary's Bookshop series.  Rewriting History is book #2 of the series. On goodreads.com, there is a list of 16 books in this series and by several different authors so I am gathering the books are all stand alone reads, as this one was.

 

Mary is a widow and has bought a bookstore in the small town of Ivy bay that will take the reader to the similar area of Cape Cod.  She lives with her sister, Betty.

 

At one of the book signings at her bookstore, she thinks she sees an old friend. The book written by Addison Hartley, is so similar to her life and details of the friendship between her, her husband and her friend.

 

No murder in this mystery but a mystery of what really happened 40 years ago in the lives of the three and why the friendship ended.

 

The book flows easily and has other characters such as a pastor and his grandson, the employee at the bookstore and her daughter and the sister of Mary. I can see  other books follow up on some of the other characters.

 

I like the scenery descriptions of the area.  At the back of the book is a recipe for chocolate covered pretzel ice cream that sounds good.

 

Mary prays often in the book asking for guidance and the prayers to me are something many of us do on a routine basis.  This is a book about sister love, the  loss of and finding friendship, loss of a husband, good friends and a hope for the future.

 

There is "A Conversation with Vera Dodge" at the back of the book that is interesting.

 

I bought this book at Goodwill.  I will probably read other books in the series.

It is published by Guidepost Publications.

 

I give this a 4 star rating.

Leona Olson

http://www.mnleona.blogspot.com