https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog daily 0.75 2025-08-30 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/theshiningcompany monthly 0.5 2024-09-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/db69063c-8d08-407b-9a3b-fc3b4eb3f4e9/The+Shining+Company Evan's Blog - Book Review: “The Shining Company” by Rosemary Sutcliff The Shining Company is a book that really captures a lot of the reasons I love Rosemary Sutcliff’s storytelling. Like so many of Sutcliff’s other books, it takes place at a time of transition in history, when ways of life and groups of people are slipping away or be threatened. Set at the end of the sixth century, The Shining Company is set during a period of substantial change in England. The Roman military left Britain around 410 AD, and while it left many of the buildings, lifestyles, and customs that it had brought, they were on borrowed time. Much of Britain’s Roman lifestyles were built on cheap trade, with luxury goods and small items being brought in for almost nothing on the back of the logistical machine that powered the Roman army. With that cheap trade gone, and the safety and structure provided by the legions gone as well, the Britons were easy pickings for the many ‘barbarians’ that threatened them. Sutcliff tells the tale of this first stage in books like The Lantern Bearers, where local Britons try to ally and work with Angles and Saxons against the Irish and the Picts, only to find themselves at the mercy of the Saxons. In Sutcliff’s retelling, the tide of Anglo-Saxons was held at bay for a little while by Arthur, but by the time of The Shining Company, Arthur is gone, and the Britons are weakening. https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/thefalseprince monthly 0.5 2024-09-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/d5ddcc43-0f09-4e48-a94f-502003bc9658/BookBrushImage-2024-8-9-22-2442.jpg Evan's Blog - Book Review: “The False Prince” by Jennifer A. Nielsen The current project I’m working on is titled ‘The False Princess’, so when I saw The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen pop up on my feed in Audible, I had to check it out. Firstly, to make sure I wasn’t copying plot, and secondly, because I was intrigued. The story begins with a nobleman grabbing a boy off the streets, named Sage, and taking him along with several others off to train for the role of the missing prince. The nobleman intends to set one of the boys up as a puppet prince, securing what he sees as best for the kingdom. I noticed as I read, and had confirmed for me later by my wife, that The False Prince had echoes of The Thief by Megan Whelan Turner, one of my all time favorites, and was recommended for anyone who enjoyed Turner’s series. (If you haven’t read the Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whelan Turner, you should). I enjoy books that have more going on than first meets the eye, and I enjoyed the sense throughout this book of discovering more and more layers to each character and to the story as it went on. Every character, from the nobleman to the other boys competing with Sage, is in a life-or-death situation, and that does not always bring out the best in people. https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/she-wolves monthly 0.5 2024-08-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/090e6500-34db-4596-be6c-1f3f8974745d/BookBrushImage-2024-7-5-10-5322.jpg Evan's Blog - Book Review: “She-Wolves” by Helen Castor - The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth I’ve been on a history kick recently, and this is the latest book I’ve devoured on Medieval queens. She-Wolves is an excellent survey of the queen’s who wielded power in England prior to Elizabth I. Beginning with Empress Matilda, and guiding the reader through the lives and careers of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and finally Mary I, Castor shows the challenges that these women wrestled with as they attempted to exercise their rights against those who attempted to depose and overthrow them. This was a fun follow on to my recent read on Joana I of Naples, and it was interesting to see some of similarities that these women faced, though they lived far apart. Each women’s story is a fantastic and thrilling read, but my favorite has to have been the section on Isabella. Not only does she end up with probably the happiest ending of them all, she absolutely ran rings around just about everyone except her son. Her story is also ludicrously insane, beginning with her wedding, where her husband gave all their wedding guests to his closest friend, and had his and his friend’s sigils everywhere instead of his and Isabella’s. https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/notjustjane monthly 0.5 2024-07-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/b62d01e8-7731-44d8-ad7f-df9028e44884/BookBrushImage-2024-6-19-8-403.jpg Evan's Blog - Book Review: “Not Just Jane” by Shelley Dewees My wife picked this up a few years ago, we both read it with great enjoyment, and I decided this year to go back and read it again because I wanted to do another review of it and I wanted to add some older classics to my reading list. Not Just Jane is an examination of seven women who wrote in the same era as Jane Austen and achieved significant success, though they have largely been forgotten by many today. This is a real shame for a number of reasons, not least because they wrote some excellent stories which deserve to be remembered and read. These are the ancestors of today's fiction and fantasy, for readers that means they are a chance to enjoy tropes and devices fresh and raw, and for those readers who are authors, it is a chance to see how some of those tropes and devices have changed and developed, or remained steadfast even over hundreds of years. Sara Coleridge’s Phantasmion: A Fairy Tale (added to my TBR) is considered the first fairytale composed in English. Catherine Crowe’s The Story of Lilly Dawson begins with the young protagonist surviving a shipwreck, only to be captured by pirates, and promises to be a tale of family secrets, plots, and mysteries. https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/theladyqueen monthly 0.5 2024-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/9f6b85ed-c700-4fc0-bb2b-92a616b9b5a6/LadyQueen+PH.jpg Evan's Blog - Book Review: “The Lady Queen” by Nancy Goldstone I have been a fan of Nancy Goldstone’s work for a while, her histories are always as fun as they are informative, in part because of the subjects she chooses, and Joanna I is no exception. Born in 1325, she ruled Naples from 1343 till her death in 1382, surviving and thriving through a dizzying array of catastrophes, betrayals, and intrigues that make Game of Thrones look calm. She was brought up by her grandparents in Naples, and engaged at an early age to Andrew, Duke of Calabria, the second son of Charles I of Hungary in an effort to resolve various claims to the crown of Sicily, but the marriage ended shortly after her reign began when he was assassinated, and Joanna’s reign did not get much calmer from there. Joanna had to work constantly to hold onto her throne for her entire reign, and at times the relentless wave of challenges coming one after another seems almost unfeasibly ridiculous. To start with, the kingdom of Hungary, at the time one of the premier military powers in Europe had designs on Naples, and managed to arrange the marriage of Joanna and Andrew while both were still children. Andrew and the Hungarian contingent in Naples appear to have made little effort to endear themselves to the rest of the populace, and despite Joanna’s attempts to placate them, they seem to have been more interested in replacing her and irritating anyone with sense than in forming a capable government. https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/littlethieves monthly 0.5 2024-05-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/c18b3db3-48b6-4dfe-83c2-052aaccbcc85/BookBrushImage-2024-5-11-13-3040.jpg Evan's Blog - Book Review: ‘Little Thieves’ by Margaret Owens The tale opens with Vanja, a poor serving girl who has stolen the identity of a princess, preparing to rob the home of another set of wealthy nobles in her quest to amass enough coin to start a new life far away. However, all does not go as planned, and Vanja soon finds herself cursed by a lower god, chased by an overeager detective, and tangled in the sinister dealings of the princess’ fiancé. She is the goddaughter of the low gods Death and Fortune, but if she calls on them for aid, she will become their servant, and Vanja has been bound as a servant more than enough. Owens spins her story with the joy and style of a master, and I found myself loving every page. her characters are vivid and captivating, starting with Vanja herself and continuing through side characters, even the antagonist. Each one is well developed, complex, and engaging with backstories, passions, and their own journeys as they try to navigate the world around them. The world that Owens has built is rich, and she weaves the lore and background into the tale flawlessly. It would be easy in a fantasy story that turns on politics, binding magic, and obscure marriage law to have a few sections that were understandably dry. But Owens skillfully ties each bit of backstory and world building together in ways that make it fun. The interactions of the low gods with the characters felt real and weighty, without the cheap sense of ‘why don’t they just fix everything’. https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/book-review-secret-history-of-the-mongol-queens-by-jack-weatherford monthly 0.5 2024-05-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/396563ff-40c6-4e99-86bb-2418fab3a8d6/Secret+history+of+the+Mongol+Queens+by+JW.jpg Evan's Blog - Book Review: Secret History of the Mongol Queens by Jack Weatherford - How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued his Empire This is one of those books with a title that fascinated me the moment I saw it: Mongol Queens and Secret History, Yes Please! The Mongol Era has been a weak point in my history once you get past Genghis Khan, so I was excited to learn more. Plus, I’m always interested to read more about women’s role in power and politics through history because they typically wield ‘soft’ power that isn’t all about armies and lopping people’s heads off. https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/k3bibuicspwhjs798340v5timd4udz monthly 0.5 2023-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1622643282188-UUBHSPKOKLAZI3A00G8Q/Ebook_YlmisSaga.jpg Evan's Blog - Ylmi's Saga Update - Ylmi’s Saga https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/linear-progress-is-a-lie monthly 0.5 2023-12-08 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/kariks-first-battle monthly 0.5 2023-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1615032711416-4MZSF316Q8XXTALDZF7T/BookBrushImage-2021-3-4-7-2730.jpg Evan's Blog - Karik's First Battle https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/the-glory-of-a-last-stand monthly 0.5 2023-12-08 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/kariks-first-battle-coming-early-2021 monthly 0.5 2023-12-08 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/tag/Mahomes monthly 0.5 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/tag/Legends+of+Karik monthly 0.5 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/tag/Flesh+and+Stone monthly 0.5 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/tag/Life monthly 0.5 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/tag/Doctor+Who monthly 0.5 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/tag/The+last+stand monthly 0.5 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/evans-blog/tag/The+superbowl monthly 0.5 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/contact daily 0.75 2020-10-12 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/black-isles daily 0.75 2020-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1600899650687-3LX8UD571DSNQ162BGEW/Black-Isles.jpg Black Isles black isles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1600899650687-3LX8UD571DSNQ162BGEW/Black-Isles.jpg Black Isles black isles https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/sons-karik daily 0.75 2020-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1600899700312-HQ4MCLFIHUOT0OIQV0XW/Sons-Karik.jpg The Sons of Karik the sons of karik https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1600899700312-HQ4MCLFIHUOT0OIQV0XW/Sons-Karik.jpg The Sons of Karik the sons of karik https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/dragon-kveldmir daily 0.75 2020-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1600899601468-QIT6UW1YZVY95YHSBCO6/Dragon-Kveldmir.jpg The Dragon of Kveldmir the dragon of kveldmir https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1600899601468-QIT6UW1YZVY95YHSBCO6/Dragon-Kveldmir.jpg The Dragon of Kveldmir the dragon of kveldmir https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/contact-home daily 0.75 2020-10-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1601385084730-4QO4KFN9A1NIA3SHBS1G/dragon-150.png Contact dragon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1601385084730-4QO4KFN9A1NIA3SHBS1G/dragon-150.png Contact dragon https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/newsletter-home daily 0.75 2022-07-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1601470976357-4QUXU48L76X01QTQS74R/dragon-150.png Newsletter dragon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1615220060010-LSA4KRM72QRSLGXJ78LB/BookBrushImage-2021-3-8-11-1358.jpg Newsletter black isles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1601470976357-4QUXU48L76X01QTQS74R/dragon-150.png Newsletter dragon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1615220060010-LSA4KRM72QRSLGXJ78LB/BookBrushImage-2021-3-8-11-1358.jpg Newsletter black isles https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/newsletter daily 0.75 2020-10-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1601583609137-X51VDHK0QK1TVD222UML/Black-isles.jpg Newsletter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1601583609137-X51VDHK0QK1TVD222UML/Black-isles.jpg Newsletter https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/legend-of-karik-book-1 daily 0.75 2021-06-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1622771095395-O6DRXYFE9C0IIK6K2RLM/Karik_cover_ebook2.jpg Legend of Karik: Book 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1622771095395-O6DRXYFE9C0IIK6K2RLM/Karik_cover_ebook2.jpg Legend of Karik: Book 1 https://www.evanoliverauthor.com/vrania daily 0.75 2021-06-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f6ba801a609da1fdfdb370b/1622818234445-59QT7WYXMNWU7IV4QW7H/Blades+of+Karik+Map+Final.png Vrania - 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