My Review of AURELIA by Alison Morton

A Winner in the True Sense of the Word 

FIVE STARS

    Starting a series with Book 4 may not always be a good thing – except when the content is laid out by a writer like Alison Morton. No wonder, Aurelia, Book 4 of the Roma Nova Series, is a Finalist for the 2016 Historical Novel Society Indie Award.

    Furthermore, Aurelia is a B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree for excellence in writing. (“Honoree” having nothing to do with “honorable mention.” This is the real deal.)

     While there was plenty of action, the language flowed easily yet was intelligent; it didn’t need grisly detail or expletives to make you sit up a little straighter and hold your breath, wondering what was to come next. Toward the end, I actually became worried I might run out of pages before the story ended – I did not. But I was sorry to have come to the end of such an interesting speculative fiction premise.

Thank you, Alison Morton, for the enjoyable hours I spent reading Aurelia.

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Amazon https://www.amazon.com/AURELIA-Roma-Nova-Book-4

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/@alison_morton

Website: http://alison-morton.com/

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Deliciously “Subtle” - My Review of The Subtlest Soul

 I have to admit I picked up Virginia Cox’ The Subtlest Soul out of curiosity

(and perhaps a little envy).

We had both been shortlisted for the HNS 2014 Indie Award for Best Historical Fiction. So, I wondered, what made Dr. Cox’ book stand out for the judges among the many great submissions (all of which are worth reading).

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/2014-hns-indie-award-shortlist-finalists-and-winners/

Now I know.

While other reviewers here already told some of the plot, I am going to talk about the language: Delicious – and subtle, as the word was used during the Renaissance, the age that produced Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante and ah, let’s not forget the Borgias and Machiavelli.

Subtle then meant to be clever, insinuating, shrewd, artful, tricky and, last but not least, devious. That perfectly fits the handsome young narrator (hence, the title). Of low birth, he compensates by being a bit vain and “subtly” squirms his way into the graces of the powerful but murderous elite. While some of his actions stem from revenge against the murderer of his family, it appears he becomes accustomed to favors bestowed upon him – even though his duplicity leads him into more treachery and great danger.

But it is the language used for young Matteo de Fermo to tell his story. His words burble along like a tranquil brook. Then, before you know it, you are in the midst of the most horrendous battles, ghastly murders, and lusty whoring. Young Matteo talks about it all seemingly devoid of remorse over his actions. The “subtlety” of Ms. Cox’ language made me chuckle quite a few times – how very Machiavellian!

No wonder, “The Subtlest Soul” was the winner. Deservedly, the book also received the hard-to-come-by B.R.A.G. Medallion.

Congratulations to Dr. Virginia Cox for an outstanding novel.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Subtlest-Soul-Virginia-Cox

A Heavenly Man

 Since I showcased the versatility of one of my fellow writers in my previous post, I thought I'd give you a taste of my own "other" writings which have nothing to do with my historical fiction novel, nor its archaeological thriller/action-adventure sequels.

This one is short, and it's different.

Check it out and enjoy the short-lived dreams/delusions of a spinster

http://www.amazon.com/Inter-Galactica