Missive #409 Published 16 December 2024

Sigwulf, a minor Saxon prince, is saved from execution after his family is slaughtered by the ruthless King Offa of Mercia. Thanks to his Devil's Mark - his eyes of different colors — Sigwulf is exiled to the Frankish court of King Carolus, the future Charlemagne. There Sigwulf survives on his wits while at the same time trying to come to terms with disturbingly prophetic dreams.

Missive #407 Published 14 December 2024

A rumor campaign threatens to thwart London barrister Leo Davies's hope of election to that rarefied strata of the British legal hierarchy, the Queen's Counsel. The rumors are based on truth, for Leo's sex life is hardly conventional. In a typical mystery novel, such a scenario would lead to blackmail or murder…or both. But Caro Fraser's new novel is neither typical nor a mystery. All of the drama in this character study of a fascinating protagonist comes from Leo's interior struggle with issues of sex, love, class, and ambition. The real mystery is how erroneously this book has been cast as a legal thriller.

Missive #405 Published 11 December 2024

The Customer review that I have quoted got it right; it is hard to keep track and I was tempted to give up. The story progresses from character to character then returns to each one of them to pick up their part of the story; very hard to keep track. The author did this in his other alternative history books but this is even more difficult because it is fantasy.

Missive #404 Published 9 December 2024

Not much of a book promo and very few customer reviews. I thought it was a decent history of the Rocky Mountain  area and deserved more. This is the second book by this author that I have read and since I enjoy history I'll be reading more of his.

Missive #401 Published 2 December 2024

I read this book as a substitute for Golden Gate Country that is the sixth in the American Folkways series which I think was written especially for the series since the author was more of a novelist versus a non fiction writer. If you read The Californians for its history it is not a bad book; somewhat historical fiction mixed with what I think was some autobiography. I have included below the book promo for Golden Gate Country which describes what was in the book that I could not find to borrow.