All Quiet in the Land of Downunder

Time has been getting away from me. I have wanted to read, review, blog, but life does not always let you fit in the 'sitting down' luxuries. The interweb frivolities.
 I have not finished any historical fiction books since I read and reviewed The Lion and The Lamb by John Henry Clay and this is why the blog has been quiet on the review front.

Currently reading the spectacularly good final to the Robyn Young's Insurrection trilogy, Kingdom, and when I do get time to read between life and sleeping, I am besotted with this terrific read.
Many of you who have seen my review of the first in the trilogy, Insurrection, will understand my elation at finding this new one by Robyn Young to be as spectacular as it is.  I enjoyed the second in the trilogy, but for me, it was that incredible trilogy opener, Insurrection that impressed me no end. It became one of my favourite books.

With hesitation then, I admit that so far, I am loving Kingdom as much and possibly even more. I don't know how it can be so, but it is. I did not think it would be possible for Robyn Young to ever write a book that could beat Insurrection on my favourites list. But, after 200 pages, I think she may have done it with Kingdom.

What else have I been up to?? Let's see. I have discovered MOOC courses. That has been a delightful experience and I recommend them to one and all.
I signed up to a course run by the University of Leicester called England in the Time of Richard III. It is three weeks in and I am enjoying it immensely. If you are interested, despite it being three weeks in (with three weeks to go) I think people can still join and catch up from the beginning.
I have also signed up for a course starting in September this year called Hadrian's Wall: Life on the Roman Frontier. Come join it with me if you think it will be of interest to you.

While my historical fiction accomplishments have been limited, I did get to read a small non fiction on Vikings.  While I strive to get more books finished so that I can post some more reviews, here is my review of that book.

Vikings by Gunnar Andersson

Vikings by Gunnar Andersson

This is the companion book for the Viking Exhibition called Vikings! It toured Australia and (as of the time of this review) is now touring Canada. In 2012 it toured Scotland and I have no idea where it went in between, or whether it went anywhere in that period between Scotland 2012 and Australia 2014.

I was unlucky enough to miss the exhibition in my own country, and lucky enough that a friend in Canada picked this book up for me as a gift when she went to see the exhibition in her country.

This book is what it is. A nice little book to own. Glossy cover, glossy pages with some lovely images. A paragraph or two to accompany each chapter and image. I do not recommend it as a detailed non fiction on Vikings. But I do recommend it as a lovely little coffee table piece to flick through, and as a gift for a Viking mad friend who didn't get to go to the exhibition.....

- MM