Historical Fantasy Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Lost Scrolls of Archimedes by Tom Roberts

Lost Scrolls of Archimedes by Tom Roberts

A young dreamer is thrown into a life-altering adventure to protect ancient knowledge in Lost Scrolls of Archimedes, the first in the new Lost Artifacts series from author Tom Roberts. Boasting a brilliant blend of historical reference and fictional mystery, this is a feast for the senses for readers who love a free-wheeling escape into the past.

The all-powerful Oracles demand that Hippolytus secure the fabled scrolls of Archimedes, but the scholar’s desire to decode them himself draws enemies in from all sides. The old man entrusts the treasure to his young assistant, Marcus Bassus, who holds his own […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-08-17T08:31:48+02:00July 26th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fantasy Book Reviews, YA Fantasy Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: Empire Paladin: Realm of the Dead by M.S. Valdez

Empire Paladin: Realm of the Dead by M.S. Valdez

Author M.S. Valdez delivers a staggering read with Empire Paladin: Realm of the Dead, the first book in a longer series that promises to be a dark delight. Set nearly eight centuries in the past, during the sinister and sacred times of the Holy Roman Empire, this is an epic tale of nobility and magic, salvation, justice, the end of the world, and everything in between.

Seated firmly at the center of this sweeping novel, with reins and warhammer in hand, is Lady Camila Chastaine, a paladin in service to the Empire, who takes her God-given task very seriously. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-06-05T04:29:37+02:00April 28th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Historical Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: The Nosferatu Conspiracy: The Sleepwalker by Brian James Gage

The Nosferatu Conspiracy: The Sleepwalker by Brian James Gage

Dripping in drama and a grim, sinister pall, The Nosferatu Conspiracy by Brian James Gage is a dark piece of fiction that defies categorization. While there are certain elements of historical fiction, gothic romance, horror, and suspense, the author plays with form and uses language as a paintbrush, poetically scribbling on the dungeon walls of this striking novel.

Much of the action centers on a fictional alternate reality at the end of the Romanov Dynasty in Russia, a mysterious piece of history that has compelled storytellers and historians for generations. A supernatural angle takes the forefront in this novel, in […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-03-07T09:40:11+02:00March 1st, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fantasy Book Reviews, Horror Book Reviews, Vampires Book Reviews|

Land of Kings (The Britannia Chronicles Book 2) by Virginia Weldon

The mythology and mystery of ancient Britannia are brought vividly to life in Land of Kings, the second installment of Virginia Weldon’s Britannia Chronicles.

A decade after Regan, Valerius, Cara, and Alana’s lives first collide, peace feels like a distant dream and there are still many battles on the horizon. Regan, having honed his impressive battle skills in the gladiator pits, returns to Britannia with his freedom intact, fire in his belly and a singular goal of reuniting with the woman he loves. Meanwhile, the rebel forces of the island nation are amassing under Queen Boudicca, and Alana and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-07-22T10:49:51+02:00July 22nd, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Historical Fantasy Book Reviews, Historical Fiction Book Reviews|

The Serpent and The Wolf by Joe Gregory

The Serpent And the Wolf by Joe Gregory The Serpent and The Wolf opens to a rather amusing bait and switch. When the reader thinks they are in a distant Viking land, a bloody battlefield in full swing, the director yells ‘Cut!’ and the modern world of the story takes shape. The opening sets the tone for the rest of the novel: a sometimes-slapstick mixing together of worlds and genres.

Harry Gustafson, a mild-mannered attorney, is the star of the show. Harry’s uncle is in surgery in the hospital, and he is suspected of killing and tearing apart some KKK members. When Harry visits him, he has visions […]

SPR2018-07-06T13:28:52+02:00July 6th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Historical Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: The Diary of an Immortal (1945-1959) by David J. Castello

★★★★ The Diary of an Immortal by David Castello

In The Diary of an Immortal, author David J. Castello shows his skills as a wordsmith and creates an unforgettable narrative that looks at immortality from every possible side.

As a main character, readers can hardly ask for more from Steven Ronson, who begins as a hapless but heroic young man who stumbles upon something unimaginable – a formula that allows him to live forever. Readers are quickly taken away from the battlefields of WWII, but the fight is far from over. Ronson soon learns that chasing his every dream, without fear of failure or fatality, is not […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-24T19:47:01+02:00March 1st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Historical Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: The Bulls of War (Chronicles of the Andervold Thrones Book 1) by E.M. Thomas

★★★★½

The Bulls of War, the first installment of E.M. Thomas’s sword-wielding epic Chronicles of the Andervold Thrones, follows friends Tyghus and Kyrus The Younger, as they find themselves falling onto the bloody blade of a war of empires and emotions. Vast in its conception, saga-like in its imagining, the dramatic realization of the battle will pull readers into its dense, murderous clutches as the two leaders must face a feat of endurance to test even the strongest of men.

While the genre of epic historical fiction serves somewhat to describe author Thomas’s writing, the description of this book as […]

Cate Baum2016-09-23T03:51:03+02:00September 22nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Historical Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Stumbling On A Tale (Time to Time #2) by Suzanne Roche

★★★★½ Stumbling on a Tale by Suzanne Roche

It all started with a book. Now three siblings are stuck together, traveling through time, once again…whether they like it or not.

Join Peri, Henry, and Max – two siblings and a half, in reverse order – as they make their way from the high spirits and high seas of an immigration ship en route to New York, and on to new adventures in the Middle Ages. Lost together in a forest after another of Peri’s bright ideas, the three find unlikely companions in a group of colorful travelers: a man and his pig, a maid searching for a […]