It’s a Blog Hop!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

As a gift to my readers and the followers of this blog, I’ve joined Passages to the Past and 30+ other blogs in the 1st Annual Historical Holiday Blog Hop. Each blog in the hop has a great giveaway package: historical fiction, history books, gift cards and more. So give yourself a present this year and check out the list here. “Hop” from blog to blog to see who’s giving away what and sign up for some great goodies. There are also Grand Prizes (I’ve donated a paperback and an ebook copy of my own novel Selene of Alexandria.) For my blog giveaway we have three prizes, once-read review copies of:

And the winner is: sara!

The Twelve Rooms of the Nile by Enid Shomer made NPR’s list of the year’s best historical fiction of 2012 (read a guest post by Enid here.) A literary novel about the imagined meeting of Florence Nightingale and Gustave Flaubert when they both traveled the fabled river–before they became famous.

• Title: The Twelve Rooms of the Nile
• Author: Enid Shomer
• Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 2012
• ISBN: 978-1-4516-4298-4
• Format: Hardcover, 449 pages
• Price: $26.00

And the winner is: Meg!

The Seven Wonders by Stephen Saylor (read my review here.) Gordianus the Finder is back in this prequel to Steven Saylor’s popular series of mysteries set in the Roman Republic. Follow his adventures as Gordianus embarks on the First Century BCE equivalent of a “Grand Tour” of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.

• Title: The Seven Wonders: A Novel of the Ancient World
• Author: Steven Saylor
• Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2012
• ISBN: 978-0-312-35984-3
• Format: Hardcover, 321 pages
• Price: $25.99

And the winner is: milliebotdesigns!

The Raven’s Seal by Andrei Baltakmens (read a guest post by Andrei here.) A historical mystery with a brooding gaol (jail for us in the US), intriguing characters and a twisty plot. If you like Dickens, you’ll like this one!

• Title: The Raven’s Seal
• Author: Andrei Baltrakmens
• Publisher: Top Five Books, 2012
• ISBN: 978-0-9852787-5-5
• Format: trade paperback ARC (uncorrected proof), 406 pages
• Price: $14.00

Giveaway Details (US addresses only)

Entry is easy: leave a comment on this post saying which book(s) you would like, by midnight Monday, December 17 (email not necessary in the comment, but please give it when asked, so I can get back to you if you win.) If you want a second entry, sign up to follow the blog or indicate you’re already a follower. For additional chances, repost this giveaway on your Facebook, blog, Twitter, website, etc. and post the link in your comment (maximum five chances.) Don’t worry if your post doesn’t appear immediately, because I moderate comments and don’t spend my life at my computer. I’ll randomly select the winners and announce it on Tuesday, December 18.  Also, there will be a mystery prize! Good luck, everyone, and happy holidays!

And the winner of the mystery prize is: Helen! She’ll receive a signed copy of my novel Selene of Alexandria

Thanks to everyone who entered the Blog Hop and congratulations to our winners.

Safe and happy holidays to all!

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Book Review and Giveaway: “The Seven Wonders” by Steven Saylor

Gordianus the Finder is back in this prequel to Steven Saylor’s popular series of mysteries set in the Roman Republic of Cicero and Caesar. Gordianus is eighteen and embarks on the First Century BCE equivalent of a “Grand Tour” with his old tutor and famous poet Antipater of Sidon. As the Italian peninsula simmers with rebellion, the pair head east to visit the Seven Wonders of the World encountering murder, mysteries and political intrigues. Over the course of their year+ journey, Gordianus evolves into “the Finder” series readers have come to know and love.

For the record, I am not a Gordianus fan. I very much enjoyed Saylor’s multi-generational epics Roma and Empire, which I reviewed, but didn’t take to the couple of Finder novels I sampled. Not because they were bad books, but because I’m not that into historical mysteries. Every reader has her quirks. This book has a distinctly different structure from the others. Saylor uses the journey to visit the Seven Wonders as a framework for several short stories (many of which were previously published in mystery and fantasy magazines.) Each Wonder gets a story with a few interludes, such as attending the Olympic Games and visiting the ruins of Corinth, resulting in ten chapters dealing with murder, witchcraft, ghosts and gods. As their journey continues, a larger mystery entangles Gordianus and Antipater with spies and other enemies of Rome.

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Giveaway: “Empire” by Steven Saylor

June is giveaway month. I’m clearing my shelves of ARC’s and review copies. Last week I gave away the first book in a series. This week we have the sequel, Empire: The Novel of Imperial Rome by Steven Saylor. From my review:

Empire continues the story of the Pinarius family chronicled in Steven Saylor’s earlier novel Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome. In the earlier book, we followed the aristocratic family from the founding of Rome through the Republican years. Empire picks up at the end of Augustus’ reign and concludes at the end of Hadrian’s, covering about 130 years and four generations of Pinarii.  Saylor sets himself a Herculean task to cover the major events and people of the times in an entertaining and accessible way using a formula perfected by James A. Michner in his historical epics. He mostly succeeds. (Read the entire review here.)

The details:

• Title: Empire: The Novel of Imperial Rome
• Author: Steven Saylor
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, 2010
• Format: Hardback with dust jacket, 587 pages
• Price: $25.99

The giveaway (sorry, US only, due to shipping costs):

This is a once-read, like-new copy, which I received from the Library Thing Early Reader Program.  Entry is easy: leave a comment on this post (make sure to give your email when asked, but not necessary in the post). If you want a second entry, sign up to follow the blog or indicate you’re already a follower. For a third chance, repost this giveaway on your Facebook, blog, Twitter, website, etc. and post the link in your comment. Don’t worry if your comment doesn’t appear immediately, because I moderate comments and don’t spend my life at my computer. I’ll randomly select a winner and announce it on Thursday, June 3o. At the end of the month I’ll enter everyone who didn’t win in all my June giveaways into a bonus drawing for a mystery book. Good luck!

And the Raffle King declared the winner…

Cindi!

Congratulations and I’ll be in touch by email.

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Giveaway: “Roma” by Steven Saylor

June has turned into a hectic month for me with writing deadlines, a trip to the Historical Novel Society Conference in San Diego to pitch my newest novel and family obligations. But I hate leaving my blog blank, so I’m clearing my shelves of ARC’s and review copies and giving them away. The first up is Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome by Steven Saylor. From my review:

I truly enjoyed this reading experience. Roma introduces the reader to events that receive short shrift in most history books. Although it covered a vast sweep of time, I felt the story telling was consistent and the characters varied and interesting. This is a wonderful achievement in both effort and results. Among the “extras”–including an interview with the author, a historical essay and reading group questions–I particularly liked the maps of Rome at the beginning of each chapter, showing the walls, major landmarks, public buildings, temples, and altars. It’s a great way of showing Rome’s expansion and evolution. “Thanks” to Saylor for a great read. (Read the entire review here.)

The details:

• Title: Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome
• Author: Steven Saylor
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2007
• Format: Trade paperback, 555 pages
• Price: $15.95

The giveaway (sorry, US only, due to shipping costs):

This is a once-read copy, which I purchased from the bargain bin (has a black magic marker dot on the bottom.)  Entry is easy: leave a comment on this post (make sure to give your email when asked, but not necessary in the post). If you want a second entry, sign up to follow the blog or indicate you’re already a follower. For a third chance, repost this giveaway on your Facebook, blog, Twitter, website, etc. and post the link in your comment. Don’t worry if your comment doesn’t appear immediately, because I moderate comments and don’t spend my life at my computer. I’ll randomly select a winner and announce it on Wednesday, June 22. At the end of the month I’ll enter everyone who didn’t win in all my June giveaways into a bonus drawing for a mystery book. Good luck!

 

And the winner is:

Judith!

Congratulations! I’ll be in touch by email.

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Book Review-“Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome” by Steven Saylor

Over three thousand years ago, a murder takes place on an island in a river flowing through the hilly region of Italy later known as the ruma. This bloody act presages the rise of one of the ancient world’s most ruthless empires. In Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome, Steven Saylor takes us on a thousand-year journey from Rome’s mythical beginnings as a trading post for salt sellers through its evolution into an empire, in a style reminiscent of James Michner. Along the way we witness Hercules‘ destruction of the monster Cacus; the founding of the walled city of Rome by a couple of young bandits named Romulus and Remus; the abduction of the Sabine women; invasions by enemies; and revolutions by generals, plebeians and slaves. Throughout, Saylor provides us with real people and understandable motivations, whose stories have been transformed over time into the stuff of myth and legend.

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Book Review – “Empire: The Novel of Imperial Rome” by Steven Saylor

Empire:The Novel of Imperial Rome continues the story of the Pinarius family chronicled in Steven Saylor’s earlier novel Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome. In the earlier book, we followed the aristocratic family from the founding of Rome through the Republican years. Empire picks up at the end of Augustus’ reign and concludes at the end of Hadrian’s, covering about 130 years and four generations of Pinarii.  Saylor sets himself a Herculean task to cover the major events and people of the times in an entertaining and accessible way using a formula perfected by James A. Michner in his historical epics. He mostly succeeds.

Read Full Post »