Skip to main content

#HistFicThursdays - Inspirational Series: Our Flag Means Death

I can’t quite remember what inspired me to watch Our Flag Means Death . I have a vague recollection of watching a trailer on Facebook and then, eventually, picking up my phone and flicking through various streaming platforms, finally settling on that as my pick. What I was expecting was a farcical pirate romp. Maybe elements of The Muppets’ Treasure Island but with a little more adult content. Lots of hopeless pirates attempting swashbuckling tasks with comically poor results. Possibly a bit of Blackadder -esque historical humour. As anyone who has watched the series would be able to tell you, I was a little way off the mark. In fact, it is a delicious, hilarious and touching tribute to Wokeness. And I say this as a good thing: all people are welcome here. For me, watching it straight after finishing (or getting towards the end of, I can’t quite remember) my novel about Alexander the Great, the relationship between Stede and Blackbeard really resonated with me. What begins as a fascin...

"Only One Death" Book Review

"Only One Death" by Alexander Crow

Book Review



☆☆☆☆☆

“Only One Death” is an engaging novel, which is quite dark in places, but creates a sense of urgency for the reader to read on…you need to find out what’s going to happen next!! As a result, this is a very difficult book to put down!
It is a fantasy novel and some of the names can be a bit tricky, especially as it is about a group of 10 people. Three characters, in particular, are very well developed. As it is a novella, it is quite short, but you feel like you really know some of the characters by the end.
The book is written by someone who knows how to survive in the wilderness, and this comes across in the writing. The wilds play an important role in the story, and is clearly important to the author. The reader is left pondering on a time when more of Britain was engulfed in wilderness, rather than the towns and settlements we know today.
I would certainly recommend this book to any lover of fantasy stories.


Book Blurb (from Goodreads)

“Amongst his people ten was an unlucky number.”

Dhinal is searching for a guide into the high mountains. With his mismatched band of companions, he knows he must find the legendary Red City.

Meanwhile, in Eastsea, Kees prepares to leave behind the Talking Races for winter.

Both Dhinal and Kees know that nature does not care whether you live, or whether you die. Both Dhinal and Kees know that even the best prepared of expeditions can falter and fail.

A journey into the mountains, with winter approaching. A group with secrets to hide. What could possibly go wrong?


The novella Only One Death is the first of three introductions to the Isthmus, and both a homage and an alternative approach to the standard fantasy quest.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Masterworks: Legacy - Samantha Wilcoxson - Interview

  Today is the last of a series on nine interviews I'm sharing on the Crowvus Book Blog. These are from the authors of the short stories included in the  Masterworks  anthology by the  Historical Writers Forum . We're running through chronologically, some are video interviews, others are written. I am delighted to welcome the fantastic Samantha Wilcoxson, who is sharing the artist inspiration for her short story Legacy , as well as the appeal of James A. Hamilton, and the delights of researching. First of all, tell us a little bit about yourself, what you write (besides Masterworks!), and what inspired you to begin writing. I was inspired to write by my love of reading. After watching me read, write reviews, and keep journals for twenty years, my husband asked me why I didn’t try writing, so I did! Without really planning on it, I ended up writing historical biographical fiction. I’m drawn to a tragic tale but also to lesser known historical figures with emotive stor...

#HistFicThursdays - Apollo's Raven - Linnea Tanner - Book Blast

 If you've been following this blog for a little while, you might remember me sharing a fabulous guest post about this book in 2022 (which you can read here ). It's always great to welcome Linnea Tanner onto the Crowvus Book Blog, and I'm delighted to be taking part in her Coffee Pot Book Club book blast blog tour. So, let's meet the book... A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people. AWARD-WINNING APOLLO’S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren’s former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him. The king’s daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf. Trained as a warrior, Catrin must find a way to break t...

#HistFicThursdays - The Historical Fiction Community (and why I'm so glad I'm a part of it!)

 Today is the arrival of #HistFicMay, now in its third year. When I started it, I did it because I had really enjoyed meeting new writers through a similar #IndieApril list of prompts. I had a quick perusal to see if anyone had done a Historical Fiction one, saw they hadn't, and decided to set one up. It had the desired effect, and I have "met" (only online!) and discovered some wonderful writers and their books over the last couple of years. Community is a bigger thing than most writers realise. The more detached individuals may refer to community as networking, but the writing community is so much more than that. Don't get me wrong, I'm as introverted as they come, but without those people I have met during #HistFicMay or the online community of historical fiction writers, there are so many things I would never have known - sometimes even things which have led me to write certain scenes or books. I'm not saying you can't be a fabulous historical fiction ...