Historical Fiction

1941 and for the idealistic young detective Georg Heuser his new posting to the renowned headquarters of the Berlin Police dept was a dream come true. Under the guidance of commissioner Ludtke, Hauser hopes to make a big impression on his bosses.

He gets his chance quicker than he expects when rumours of a killer haunting the Berlin Railways reach the murder squads ears. Targeting lone women commuters, the killers assaults and then bludgeons them to death. 

As the body count rises, the Berlin Murder squad comes under increasing pressure from the ruling Nazi party to capture and execute this deviant. With war raging across Europe Hauser must use all of his brilliant skills if he is to stop the killer and earn the gratitude of SS chief, Heinrich  Himmler. 

1959 and in West Germany two lawyers, Max Kraus and Paula Siebert are in pursuit of Nazi war criminals, in particular those men involved in the brutal suppression of the Eastern Front in the area the Nazis called Ostland.

Charged with clearing the area of Jews, communists and any deviants deemed undesirable, these men killed and butchered their way across Eastern Europe. Millions were killed and Max and Paula are determined to these men to justice.   

While they are targeting many, one man is particular is in their sights. A cold, calculating and efficient killer of men these man oversaw and took part in some of the worst atrocities of the entire war. This mans name is Georg Heuser. Paula and Max what to find out how this good man became a monster. 

So where do I start with this book review? Okay I will start in a easy part…This is probably the best book I have ever read! So why? well that is harder to explain.

The book is based on real events and real people and has three aspects to the book. The first half of the book is a murder mystery as Georg attempts to capture the killer. The second half of the book is more complex as Georg is sent to police the occupied areas on the Eastern Front and the slow descent into criminality and murder. The intertwining thread is the 1959 court case as Paula and Max attempt to bring him to justice.

The first half of the book sets up Georg as an engaging and likeable character, his enthusiasm  for his new job and his belief in the law and law and order make him a an easy character to empathise with. As he brings his skills to the task of capturing the killer he enjoys life in Berlin and falls in love.

This sets up the second half of the book as he is sent to the Eastern front and begins the slide into cynicism and despair as his belief in the law and law and order means he must comply with the orders of the Nazi government and facilitate the removal and extermination of  people they class as undesirable.

It is quite a harrowing story as his very belief in the power of the law means that he struggles against the orders he receives and his belief that he must spare his men from the horror and so he takes on more of the killings himself.

This book is a fantastic study of how a man can descend from an upright and decent citizen to a bitter and drunken killer of men, women and children and how he can live with himself afterwards. It is a compelling and engaging book that captures your attention from the first word and keeps it to the last.

I know I haven’t done justice to just how good this book is but I honestly can’t recommend it enough.

For Imperial agent, Cassius Corbulo the last three months have been something of a holiday, While Bostra was hardly a Rome or Antioch it was still a pleasant posting and his duties were hardly taxing . 

The arrival of his boss, Abascantius to Bostra suggests his life of ease is coming to an end. With rebellion breaking out in neighbouring Palmyra and the tribes of Arabia growing restless the Emperor himself is leading his armies to bring the area under Roman control once more.

For the authorities in the east everything must be perfect for the Emperor’s arrival but when a mysterious enemy attacks a temple and spirits away the Black stone of Edessa, a stone claimed by the Emperor then they must get the stone back before he arrives.

Cassius is charged with finding out who stole the Stone and what they intend to do with it. With an escort of select troops, Cassius with his faithful followers Indavana and Simo must travel into the desert and into the middle of the restless tribes.

As they travel deeper into the relentless desert  they see signs that the tribes are ready to rise up against the Roman yoke and Cassius’s mission gets more and more complicated. 

Can Cassius travel into the heart of the storm and not only find the Black Stone but also retrieve it before the Emperor arrives in the East?

The Black Stone is the fourth book in Nick Brown series featuring Imperial Agent Cassius Corbulo.

This series just gets better and better and The Black Stone is the best book so far.

Unusually for series set in the Roman period the author tends to avoid the large set piece battles and the massed ranks of the legions that other books seem to fixate on.

This gives the books a very “local” feel, instead of sweeping across the whole empire the books focus on one particular area of the Empire. The last book (The Far Shore) looked at Roman colonists on the African coast and this book focuses on the Tribes of Arabia and their relationship with Rome.

The one advantage of this plot device is that you get to really understand the customs and traditions of the area. The author can devote much more time to really developing how they interact with Rome and then officials sent to administer them.

Another interesting facet of these books are the three main characters. Cassius, Indavara  and Simo are all complex and interesting characters. All three of them are struggling with who they are and maybe this is why they get on so well and the relationship really works in the books.

Cassius is the reluctant hero, unlike most “heroes” he isn’t particularity brave or proficient with weapons, he dislikes violence and would rather live a life of debauched idleness. His one strength is his sense of duty and a desires to complete his mission successful.

Cassius is an excellent character and is one of the main reasons the books work, he is very likeable without being the superhuman killing machine most heroes are portrayed as.

Both Indavara and Simo both have different internal struggles that affect their relationship with Cassius. Simo struggles between his duty to Cassius and his desire to follow the teaching of Christ and this cause some real tension between the two.

Indavara is struggling with who he is the most, a cold eyed killer he remembers nothing before his life in the arena.  This plot line is one of the most interesting because you can see the conflict between the efficient killer and the nice, normal guy that is trying to break out.

In this book the first cracks appear in the relationships between all three and their struggles between loyalty to each other and the desire for happiness.

The Black Stone is a cracking read, the plot is fast paced and the action scenes very exciting. The escape from the enemy stronghold in particular is very good.

I can’t recommend this book, or series enough and I’m glad to say it keeps getting better and better.

For 16 year old Blythe, the Horse Thieves Picnic was the highlight of her year. Her school crush had come back into town and is escorting her to it.  Little does she know how her life is going to change when she accepts a lift from Dobbs, a family friend.

Waking up in a cold dark concrete bunker, Blythe realizes she is a captive and is in an underground nuclear bunker. Why would Dobbs take her? What does he want with her?

For Dobbs it is all about survival, survival of himself and ultimately the human race. The Armageddon is coming and he has to be ready. He has been preparing for this his whole life. Stocking up his bunker with seeds and plants he is preparing for ‘after’, all he need is his Eve to save mankind.    

He picked Blythe because she is strong, able to survive the isolation and darkness. She will come round in time, when she understand he has saved her but Blythe only has one thing on her mind…Home.

Now this isn’t normally the type of book I would read but I wanted a break from Historical fiction and it was sitting on the bookcase so I thought, why not!

I have to say I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed it, its very different but superbly written.

As with a football match this is a book of two halves, now I don’t want to give away to many spoilers about second half of the book so this review will concentrate on the first half.

It starts off as a run of the mill kidnapping story, hope and escape are all that are in Blythe’s mind. As time goes on and Blythe tries to adjust to captivity it descends  into a  dark tale of lost hope , anger and madness.

The writing style was a little strange to begin with but as the story condenses into Blythe and her surroundings it comes together to really capture her emotions.

It was a little tough to read at times as this young girl struggled to keep her sanity and struggled to know what was real and what is a figment of her imagination.

For a story that is on the main two people and a concrete bunker it certainly maintains your attention and the narrative flows at a quick pace.

While this book is a dark story of kidnap and the struggle against despair and madness it ultimately is a story of redemption and hope.

As I said, not my usual fare but very enjoyable.

Above is released today.

Sigurd, son of  Harald is keen to make his name in battle. As a son of a Jarl he knows he must forge his own path if he is to emerge from his fathers shadow and weave his own name into the sagas.

His opportunity comes quicker than he expects when his father is betrayed by his King and a powerful Jarl. With his home destroyed, his family slaughtered and his sister captured by his enemies, Sigurd must flee for his life.

With just a few trusted friends, Sigurd roams the seas as an outlaw, hunted by his enemies and prey to every Jarl and chief keen to curry favour with the king.

Sigurad’s chances of survival seem to be slim but Sigurd is determined to wins the gods favour, especially Odin’s who he plans to attract with blood and chaos.

Travelling to the edges of society he collects together a band of desperate men, they are killers and warriors but all believe in Sigurd and his cause.

Keen to show his crew that their cause is blessed by the gods, Sigurd endures an ordeal of pain and horror which he hopes will bind the gods to his favour.

Beset on all sides by enemies, Sigurd and his crew are tested by blood and fire but his crew love and trust him for he has shown them he  blessed by the gods and a warrior born.

They will need all of their skills in blood and iron as Sigurd and his crew go up against the King and his Jarl but Siguard is relentless, he wants his sister and he wants revenge on those who brought blood and terror to his family.

God of Vengeance is a prequel to Giles Kristian’s highly acclaimed Raven Series.

Anyone who has followed this blog will know I am a huge fan of Giles Kristian’s books. I have mainly reviewed his English civil war books (Bleeding Land and Brother’s Fury)  but his Viking books are where he is in my opinion, at his best.

The ECW books are brilliant but when Giles is writing about Viking you really feel the passion and love he has for the subject.

Giles writing style is fast paced, punchy and brutal but also at times utterly beautiful as he weaves Norse saga into the action and his passion for the subject really shines through.

It never feels forced and it reads so naturally, lurching from blood and gore into simple yet almost poetic lines of saga and then back to the blood.

The action comes at you like a train as scene after scene of brutal and bloody action hit you, at times leaving you feeling drained as the sheer power of the scenes punches you in the stomach.

I’ve said it before and I will repeat it here, I doubt there is a better writer of battle scenes than Giles. He likes to liberally soak his scenes in blood and gore but it never feels gratuitous or unnecessary. They are powerful and at times very moving.

The scene where we first meet Black Loki is a fine example. Brutal, bloody and violent it is also beautifully written and the description of the various moves feel balletic at times. It is a fantastic introduction to a brilliant character.

I would like to add that this book is more than just a book of battles and blood, it is also a book of friendship, honour and tradition.

Fans of the Raven books will love this book. We get to meet all our favourite characters again and its great seeing how they all met. It is also interesting seeing the bonds and comradeship develop that were so evident in the Raven Books

I honestly can not recommend this book enough, it is Giles Kristian at his very best.

Giles Website