Imperium
Facts:Date finished: 5-23-08Author: Robert HarrisCategory: Historical fictionPublished: 2007Pages: 608 (large-print edition)Rating: 3.5/5 Basic Plot:As a new man with little money, Cicero’s ambition of achieving the ultimate political success seems a faint hope. But bold moves in the courts and strategic alliances allow the most clever orator Rome has seen in…
Heaven’s Net is Wide
Facts:Date finished: 5-07-08Author: Lian HearnCategory: Historical fictionPublished: 2007Pages: 482Rating: 5/5 Basic Plot:As Shigeru matures to leadership within the Otori clan, he is increasingly disturbed by way the Tohan are allowed to have their way on Otori land. His travels through the Middle Country endear him to his people, who believe…
The Queen of Bedlam
Facts:Date finished: 4-26-08Author: Robert McCammonCategory: Mystery (historical)Published: 2007Pages: 656 Basic Plot:Set in Manhattan in 1703, the Masker is engendering fear in the hearts of everyone as he claims his second and third victims. The constabulary is in its infancy, and the head is out of his league, leaving little hope…
Ragtime in Simla
Facts:Date finished: 5-30-05Author: Barbara CleverlyCategory: Mystery (historical)Published: 2003Pages: 287 Basic Plot:Joe Sandilands is on his way up to Simla for a well-deserved vacation. En route to the town, his new traveling companion is shot and killed in a similar fashion to an earlier death. Joe teams up with the local…
The Rose Without a Thorn
Facts:Date finished: 5-13-05Author: Jean PlaidyCategory: Historical fictionPublished: 2003 (Originally published in 1993)Pages: 260 Basic plot:First-person narrative of the life of Katherine Howard, fifth wife to King Henry VIII. Katherine tells of her humble beginnings, her rise to court and the attentions of the king that led to their eventual marriage….