Historical Fiction

Cover Reveal: THE GREEN COUNT by Christian Cameron (Orion)

Civilian Reader Covers, Upcoming , , , , , , , ,

cameronc-greencountuk

Today, we have a cover reveal for you! The Green Count is Christian Cameron‘s latest historical military epic, and the third in his William Gold series (also known as the Chivalry series). It is due to be published by Orion Books on July 13th, 2017. Here’s the synopsis:

Famagusta, November 1365. The world teeters on the brink of bloody political upheaval… and Sir William Gold is caught right in the thick of it.

After the bloody trials of Alexandria, Sir William Gold is readying for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to ease the burden on his soul. He hopes, too, that the Holy City might allow his relationship with Emelye, cousin of the Green Count of Savoy, to develop.

But the Roman Emperor of Constantinople has been taken hostage by an unknown enemy, and the Green Count is vital to the rescue effort. It is up to Sir William to secure his support, but he soon finds that his past, and his relationship with Emelye, might have repercussions he had not foreseen…

Suddenly thrust onto the stage of international politics, Sir William finds himself tangled in a web of plots, intrigue and murder. He must hold true to his chivalric principles, and to his knights, if he is to save the Emperor and survive to tell the tale.

The first two novels in the series — The Ill-Made Knight and The Long Sword — are also published in the UK by Orion.

cameronc-williamgoldseriesuk2016

Christian Cameron is also the author of the Traitor Son Cycle, a best-selling fantasy series, under the pseudonym Miles Cameron (published by Gollancz in the UK and Orbit in the US).

cameronm-traitorsoncycleuk2016

Also on CR: Guest Post on “How I do Research”

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter

Interview with BARBARA BARNETT

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , ,

barnettb-authorpicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Barbara Barnett?

Chicago-based author-blogger-editor Barbara Barnett is Publisher/Executive Editor of Blogcritics Magazine.

Always a pop-culture and sci-fi geek, Barbara was raised on a steady diet of TV (and TV dinners), but she always found her way to the tragic antiheroes and misunderstood champions, whether on TV, in the movies or in literature. (In other words, Spock, not Kirk; Han Solo, not Luke Skywalker!) It was inevitable that she would have to someday create one of her own (like Gaelan Erceldoune!). She’s always been a bit quirky and is happy to admit she’s managed (with her soul mate of a husband Phillip) to raise two geeky children of her own (sorry, Shosh and Adam, you never had a chance!).

She is an accomplished speaker, an annual favorite at MENSA’s HalloWEEM convention, where she has spoken to standing room crowds on subjects as diverse as “The Byronic Hero in Pop Culture,” “The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes,” “The Hidden History of Science Fiction,” and “Our Passion for Disaster (Movies).” This autumn, she will reprise her MENSA appearance with “The Conan Doyle Conundrum.” Continue reading →

Upcoming: MISTER MEMORY by Marcus Sedgwick (Hodder)

Civilian Reader Upcoming , , , , , , , ,

SedgwickM-MisterMemoryUKI’m a fan of Marcus Sedgwick’s work — I thought his previous novel for adults, A Love Like Blood, was superb. Ever since finishing that, I’ve been eagerly awaiting his next novel. And, in July, Hodder will be publishing Mister Memory. Here’s the skinny:

In Paris, at the end of the nineteenth century, a man with a perfect memory murders his wife. But that is only the start of the story… A dazzling literary mystery from prizewinning author Marcus Sedgwick.

In Paris in the year 1899, Marcel Després is arrested for the murder of his wife and transferred to the famous Salpêtrière asylum. And there the story might have stopped.

But the doctor assigned to his care soon realises this is no ordinary patient: Marcel Després, Mister Memory, is a man who cannot forget. And the policeman assigned to his case soon realises that something else is at stake: for why else would the criminal have been hurried off to hospital, and why are his superiors so keen for the whole affair to be closed? 

This crime involves something bigger and stranger than a lovers’ fight — something with links to the highest and lowest establishments in France. The policeman and the doctor between them must unravel the mystery… but the answers lie inside Marcel’s head. And how can he tell what is significant when he remembers every detail of every moment of his entire life?

Mister Memory is due to be published in the UK by Hodder, on July 14th, 2016. For more, check out the author’s website, and follow him on Twitter and Goodreads.

Interview with MICHAEL LIVINGSTON

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , , ,

LivingstonM-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Michael Livingston?

I’m someone who wears a lot of hats.

In my day job, I wear the hat of being a professor of English at The Citadel in Charleston, SC. I teach courses mostly in medieval literature — Beowulf, Chaucer, and such — but I publish far more widely in literature and history. Most of my colleagues refer to me as a cultural historian specializing in the Middle Ages, and that fits well enough — except that I also publish a fair amount on the works of Tolkien and other modern fantasists.

And now, thanks to The Shards of Heaven, I get to add the Hat of Novel Writerness, much to my great astonishment and glee!

Your debut novel, The Shards of Heaven, will be published by Tor this month. It looks rather fabulous: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

The Shards of Heaven is the first novel in a trilogy of the same name. It’s the story of fantasy and history colliding at the rise of the Roman Empire, as the children of Caesar fight to find and control the legendary artifacts of gods both old and new, and a new myth is born in the struggle. Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE DINOSAUR LORDS by Victor Milán (Tor)

Civilian Reader Upcoming , , , ,

MilanV-DinosaurLordsUSAlmost everything about this book cries out “wish fulfilment”: Action! Adventure! Dinosaurs! Knights riding them! Victor Milán‘s The Dinosaur Lords is published in North America by Tor Books in July 2015.

Not sure if there are more books planned in the series, but I’m rather looking forward to reading The Dinosaur Lords. Here’s the synopsis:

A world made by the Eight Creators on which to play out their games of passion and power, Paradise is a sprawling, diverse, often brutal place. Men and women live on Paradise as do dogs, cats, ferrets, goats, and horses. But dinosaurs predominate: wildlife, monsters, beasts of burden–and of war.  Colossal plant-eaters like Brachiosaurus; terrifying meat-eaters like Allosaurus, and the most feared of all, Tyrannosaurus rex. Giant lizards swim warm seas. Birds (some with teeth) share the sky with flying reptiles that range in size from bat-sized insectivores to majestic and deadly Dragons.

Thus we are plunged into Victor Milán’s splendidly weird world of The Dinosaur Lords, a place that for all purposes mirrors 14th century Europe with its dynastic rivalries, religious wars, and byzantine politics…except the weapons of choice are dinosaurs. Where vast armies of dinosaur-mounted knights engage in battle. During the course of one of these epic battles, the enigmatic mercenary Dinosaur Lord Karyl Bogomirsky is defeated through betrayal and left for dead.  He wakes, naked, wounded, partially amnesiac–and hunted. And embarks upon a journey that will shake his world.