Book Reviews

Douglas Jackson, Festival of History 2011 (Photo by Kate Atherton)

Greek and ancient world
The Last King of Lydia by Tim Leach
Christian Cameron – God of War: The Epic Story of Alexander the Great

Roman
Anthony Riches – Empire I: Wounds of Honour
Anthony Riches – Empire II: Arrows of Fury
Anthony Riches – Empire III: Fortress of Spears
Anthony Riches – Empire IV: The Leopard Sword
Anthony Riches – Empire V: The Wolf’s Gold
Ben Kane – Hannibal: Enemy of Rome
Ben Kane – Spartacus
Ben Kane – Spartacus: Rebellion
Bruce MacBain – Roman Games
Douglas Jackson – Caligula
Douglas Jackson – Claudius
Douglas Jackson – Defender of Rome
Douglas Jackson – Avenger of Rome
Harry Sidebottom – Warrior of Rome I: Fire in the East
Henry Venmore-Rowland – The Last Caesar
M.C. Scott – Rome: The Emperor’s Spy
M.C. Scott – Rome: The Coming of the King
M.C. Scott – Rome: The Eagle of the Twelfth
M.C. Scott – Rome: The Art of War
Nick Brown – Agent of Rome: The Siege
Nick Brown – Agent of Rome: The Imperial Banner
Richard Blake – The Ghosts of Athens
Robert Fabbri – Vespasian I: Tribune of Rome
Robert Fabbri – Vespasian II: Rome’s Executioner
Robert Fabbri – Vespasian III: False God of Rome
Ruth Downie – Semper Fidelis
S.J.A. Turney – Marius’ Mules I: The Invasion of Gaul
S.J.A. Turney – Marius’ Mules II: The Belgae

Viking and Medieval
Giles Kristian – Raven: Blood Eye; Raven: Sons of Thunder; Raven: Odin’s Wolves
Three Thrones- One Throne by Michael Wills
James Aitcheson – Sworn Sword
James Aitcheson – The Splintered Kingdom
Robert Lyndon – Hawk Quest
Elizabeth Chadwick – Lady of the English
Elizabeth Chadwick – The Greatest Knight
Elizabeth Chadwick – The Scarlet Lion
Angus Donald – Outlaw
Angus Donald – Holy Warrior
Angus Donald – King’s Man
Angus Donald – Warlord
Sharon Kay Penman – Lionheart
Robyn Young – Insurrection II: Renegade
Joanna Hickson – The Agincourt Bride
Kimberly Cutter – The Maid

Tudor and English Civil War
The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd
Hilary Mantel – Bring Up the Bodies
Elizabeth Fremantle – Queen’s Gambit
Victoria Lamb – His Dark Lady
Giles Kristian – The Bleeding Land
Giles Kristian – Brothers’ Fury
Michael Arnold – Stryker Chronicles I: Traitor’s Blood
Michael Arnold – Stryker Chronicles II: Devil’s Charge
Michael Arnold – Stryker Chronicles III: Hunter’s Rage
Robert Wilton – Treason’s Field

More recent past
James McGee – Rebellion
William Dietrich – Napoleon’s Pyramids
Lynn Shepherd – A Treacherous Likeness
D.E. Meredith – Devoured (A Hatton and Roumande Mystery)
D.E. Meredith – The Devil’s Ribbon (A Hatton and Roumande Mystery)
Paul Fraser Collard – The Scarlet Thief
Timothy L O’Brien – The Lincoln Conspiracy
David Gibbins – Pharaoh
Kenneth Cameron – Winter at Death’s Hotel
Alex Scarrow – The Candle Man
Sangeeta Bhargava – The World Beyond
Richard Pierce – Dead Men
Charlotte Rogan – The Lifeboat
Elizabeth Speller – The Return of John Emmett
Elizabeth Speller – The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton
ML Stedman – The Light Between Oceans
Kim Fay – The Map of Lost Memories
Susanna Jones – When Nights Were Cold
Michelle Paver – Dark Matter
Mark Mills – House of the Hanged
Kate Atkinson – Life After Life
Ken Follett – Winter of the World
Ben Elton – Two Brothers
Laurent Binet – HHhH
Kate Morton – The Secret Keeper
C.J. Sansom – Dominion

Young Adult
Alex Scarrow – TimeRiders 2: Day of the Predator
Alex Scarrow – TimeRiders 3: The Doomsday Code
Alex Scarrow – TimeRiders 4: The Eternal War
Alex Scarrow – TimeRiders 5: Gates of Rome
Alex Scarrow – TimeRiders 6: City of Shadows
Alex Scarrow – TimeRiders 7: The Pirate Kings
Alex Scarrow – The Legend of Ellie Quin
Beth Revis – Across the Universe
Beth Revis – A Million Suns
Beth Revis – Shades of Earth
Caroline Lawrence – The Roman Mysteries (II), The Secrets of Vesuvius
Caroline Lawrence – The Roman Mysteries (III), The Pirates of Pompeii
Caroline Lawrence – The Case of the Deadly Desperados (P.K. Pinkerton 1)
Caroline Lawrence – The Case of the Good-Looking Corpse (P.K. Pinkerton 2)
Christian Schoon – Zen Scarlett
Helen Dunmore – Ingo Adventures: Ingo; The Tide Knot; The Deep; The Crossing of Ingo
Helen Dunmore – Ingo Chronicles: Stormswept
Janet Edwards – Earth Girl
Johan Horstad – 172 Hours on the Moon
Julianna Baggott – Pure
Julianna Baggott – Fuse
Julie Bertagna – Exodus Trilogy: Exodus; Zenith; Aurora
Jonathan L. Howard – Katya’s World
Michael Grant – Gone
Neal Shusterman – Unwind
Neal Shusterman – Unwholly
Rick Yancey – The 5th Wave
Susan Pfeffer – Life As We Knew It
Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins – Catching Fire (The Hunger Games 2)
Suzanne Collins – Mockingjay (The Hunger Games 3)
Veronica Roth – Divergent

Thrillers
A.M. Dean – The Lost Library
Adam Blake – The Dead Sea Deception
Adam Blake – The Demon Code
Andy McDermott – Temple of the Gods
Boyd Morrison – The Tsunami Countdown
Chris Kuzneski – The Hunters
Clive Cussler and Graham Brown – The Storm (Numa 10)
D.E. Meredith – Devoured (A Hatton and Roumande Mystery)
Dean Crawford – Apocalypse
David Gibbins – The Gods of Atlantis
David Gibbins – Pharaoh
Dustin Thomason – 12-21
Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl
J.T. Brannan – Origin
Jack McDevitt and Mike Resnick – The Cassandra Project
James Douglas – The Doomsday Testament
James Douglas – The Isis Covenant
James Rollins – The Devil Colony
James Rollins – Bloodline
James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell – The Blood Gospel
James Smythe – The Testimony
Jeremy Robinson – SecondWorld
Jeremy Robinson – Island 731
Jon Steele – The Watchers
Kyle Mills – The Immortalists
Laurence O’Bryan – The Istanbul Puzzle
Laurence O’Bryan – The Jerusalem Puzzle
Matthew Reilly – Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves
Michael Crichton and Richard Preston – Micro
Paul Sussman – The Labyrinth of Osiris
Robert Masello – The Romanov Cross
Sam Bourne – Pantheon
Scott Mariani – The Sacred Sword (Ben Hope 7)
Scott Mariani – The Armada Legacy (Ben Hope 8)
Simon Conway – Rock Creek Park
Simon Toyne – Sanctus
Simon Toyne – The Key
Simon Toyne – The Tower
Ted Kosmatka – Prophet of Bones

Science Fiction
Alastair Reynolds – Blue Remembered Earth
Alastair Reynolds – Revelation Space
Andreas Christensen – Exodus
Arthur C. Clarke – The Songs of Distant Earth
Arthur C. Clarke – Rendezvous with Rama
Arthur C. Clarke – Childhood’s End
Arthur C. Clarke – A Fall of Moondust
Chris Beckett – Dark Eden
David Brin – Existence
David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt – Heaven’s Shadow
Drew Magary – The End Specialist
Gary Gibson – Final Days
Hugh Howey – Wool
Hugh Howey – Shift
Iain M. Banks – Consider Phlebas (Culture)
Iain M. Banks – Use of Weapons (Culture)
Iain M. Banks – The Hydrogen Sonata (Culture)
Jack McDevitt and Mike Resnick – The Cassandra Project
James Smythe – The Testimony
James Smythe – The Explorer
James Smythe – The Machine
Jane Rogers – The Testament of Jessie Lamb
Janet Edwards – Earth Girl
Karen Thompson Walker – The Age of Miracles
Kim Stanley Robinson – 2312
Patrick Lee – The Breach trilogy: The Breach; Ghost Country; Deep Sky
Peter F. Hamilton – Pandora’s Star
Peter F. Hamilton – Judas Unchained
Peter F Hamilton – Great North Road
Peter Heller – The Dog Stars
Poul Anderson – Tao Zero
Rick Yancey – The 5th Wave
Richard Morgan – Altered Carbon
Richard Morgan – Broken Angels
Robert J Sawyer – Triggers
Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter – The Long Earth

Fantasy
Eowyn Ivey – The Snow Child
Felix Palma – The Map of Time
Margo Lanagan – The Brides of Rollrock Island
Maria Dahvana Headley – Queen of Kings
Stephen King – 11.22.63

Horror
Michelle Paver – Dark Matter
Alex Scarrow – October Skies
The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd
William Peter Blatty – The Exorcist (40th Anniversary Edition) – Guest Review

Literary fiction
Kate Atkinson – Life After Life
Peggy Riley – Amity and Sorrow

Non fiction
Gerald Durrell – Menagerie Manor

Features
Author Focus: Rob Wickings – Zombies, Pirates, Film
Interlude 3 – Shakespeare and Oxford’s Painted Room
Guest post – Peggy Riley on Casting Amity and Sorrow
Oxford Literary Festival 2013 report – Hilary Mantel and Paul Roberts – Bring Up the Bodies and Hug a Roman!
2013 – Challenges and Resolutions!
An interview with Alex Scarrow and a review of his latest adventure The Legend of Ellie Quin
2012 – Book review of the year
If you could turn back time – Guest post on Demention
History in the Court 2012 – A night to remember
Interlude 2 – Archaeology: A thing of the past?
Interlude – Books bricks and alien worlds
Snow Day! An interview with Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child
My interview with Jon Steele, author of The Watchers
An overview of Alex Scarrow on My Favourite Books
Festival of Historical Writing 2011
The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival 2012 Part 1 – Caroline Lawrence, Simon Callow
The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival 2012 Part 2 – Ian Rankin
The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival 2012 Part 3 – The Scarrows and Paxman
Double Whammy Book Launch – The Leopard Sword by Anthony Riches and The Bleeding Land by Giles Kristian