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#HistFicThursday - Folk Music - The Spinners

 Today, in Caithness, the sun is shining and the air is clear. I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog that, certain weathers and certain times of the year ignite certain music in me. And, on late winter days which are filled with sunshine, I am usually to be found singing the songs of The Spinners . Inevitably, I start humming different ones of their songs (and of course adapting them to be about Orlando and Jess) as I go around doing different things. But I remember almost all the words to them. I haven't heard a lot of them in years, but they are all there, rooted in my memory. It is truly fascinating to think about how these songs have passed through history. They are part of my own nostalgia, which is why crisp sunny mornings make me incapable of ignoring the temptation to sing them, but they are part of something much bigger. There are songs amongst them which are a newer step in the folk music movement. Songs like Silver in the Stubble are amongs...

"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.

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