Please enable JavaScript
Historical Fiction | Page 57 | LitPick Book Reviews
Historical Fiction
Treason (Secrets and Spies)
Secrets and Spies: Treason
Jo Macauley
Fourteen-year-old Beth Johnson is a talented and beautiful young actress. She is also a spy. The year is 1664, and Charles II is on the throne, but all is not well in the bustling city of London, and there are those who would gladly kill the king and destroy the Monarchy. One morning, a mysterious ghost ship drifts up the Thames. Sent to investigate by the King's Master of Secrets, Alan Strange, Beth quickly finds herself embroiled in a dangerous adventure. Will Beth be able to unravel the plot to kill the King before it's too late?

Book Details

Vic: Mongol (Volume 2)
Vic: Mongol
Vic: Mongol, is the 2nd book in the series The Incredible Adventures of Vic ChallengerOn the second trip of her quest to find her soul mate, the reincarnated cave girl visits Outer Mongolia. En-route, she and friend Lin Li save the life of a young lady detective and become embroiled in a murder case which leaves port with them. In Mongolia, they learn to play shagai games with their guide’s 5-year-olds and consistently lose They do some hunting and decide maral steak is the bee's knees. Unfortunately, the trip is not all fun and games. They must deal with hordes of olgoi-khorkhoi, Chinese Red Beards, White Russians, hungry wolves, a lost species of human, sub-zero weather and a wind storm. One lesson learned: not everyone who first looks like a bad guy is a bad guy. Fast-paced and unpredictable, action adventure in the tradition of the adventure pulps of the early 20th Century. If you like Doc Savage, The Avenger (Dick Benson), Nancy Drew, or Tarzan or any other novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs you will love Vic Challlenger.What reviewers think of the series:"Vic Challenger personifies every sword or ax wielding heroine ever drawn by any heroic fantasy artist.""the female answer to Indiana Jones""Great Campy Multi-Genre Book""I have recommended the Vic Challenger books to my wife and to all of my children""Any of these novels would make a really good movie.""if you like Clive Cussler or James Rollins, these are definitely the books for you."“The Incredible Adventures of Vic Challenger” series is inspired by writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. Rider Haggard, Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle and H. G. Wells; and by characters like Nancy Drew, Lara Croft, Alan Quatermain, Doc Savage and his cousin Patricia Savage, and Dick Benson and his assistant Nellie Gray. The writing style has been compared to Burroughs and is also reminiscent of early action driven horror novels by Graham Masterton,The series is set in the 1920’s and considerable research adds to the “realism” You will find yourself effortlessly learning bits of history, some of which may amaze you. Vic’s travels are woven into the history of the time, you may be asking yourself “Is this real?”What do you get when you cross an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel with a Nancy Drew novel? Pink-cloche-coffee-bacon-hot pepper loving Vic Challenger. The New Queen of Action Adventure Pulp!

Book Details

A Matter of Souls (Fiction - Young Adult)
A Matter of Souls (Fiction - Young Adult)
Denise Lewis Patrick
"From the shores of Africa to the bowels of a transatlantic ship to a voting booth in Mississippi to the jungles of Vietnam, all human connection is a matter of souls. In this stirring collection of short stories, Denise Lewis Patrick considers the souls of black men and women across centuries and continents. In each, she takes the measure of their dignity, describes their dreams, and catalogs their fears. Brutality, beauty, laughter, rage, and love all take their turns in each story, but the final impression is of indomitable, luminous, and connected souls."

Book Details

A Breath of Frost: The Lovegrove Inheritance (The Lovegrove Legacy)
A Breath of Frost
In 1814, three cousins-Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope-discover their secret family lineage of witchcraft when a binding spell is broken, allowing their individual magical powers to manifest. Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld. Now ghouls, hellhounds-and most terrifying of all, the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters-are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers. And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders…because she keeps finding the bodies. Can the cousins seal the gates before another witch is killed…or even worse, before their new gifts are stripped away?

Book Details

The Brewster Boys and the Red Revenge (Volume 2)
The Brewster Boys and the Red Revenge
Stephen Dittmer
A week has passed since Jon, Pete, and Abby returned home from the attack on Pearl Harbor. Now all they want is to relax and enjoy the remainder of their summer. However, they soon realize that their time-travel adventure has just begun. After noticing minor changes in their neighborhood’s landscape, and receiving a cryptic phone message from an unknown source, the Brewster boys and Abby realize that something is missing from America - the states! The Mississippi River now divides the United States and the North American territory of the Soviet Union! Feeling responsible for these radical changes the Brewster boys and Abby have no other choice but to travel back and set things right. On their journey they’ll discover significant changes in the events of the Manhattan project, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassination of J.F.K. They will even visit Nikita Khrushchev’s Moscow!

Book Details

Sliding Beneath the Surface: [The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book I]
Sliding Beneath the Surface:St. Augustine Trilogy,Book I
In America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida, teenager Jeff Golden is in trouble. Horrible dreams won’t let him sleep, and he is up to his eyeballs in terrifying, paranormal experiences.Finally, Jeff turns to his girlfriend Carla, and Lobo, the mysterious Native American shaman, for help. But what he discovers is a lot more than he bargained for.A ghostly presence linked to a local historic cemetery is not only threatening Jeff’s sanity but his life as well. And before he knows what’s happening, Jeff finds both himself and Carla pulled into one of the nastiest and most bloody events in Florida history. It is a place from which they may never escape.

Book Details

Sliding Beneath the Surface: [The St. Augustine Trilogy: Book I] (Volume 1)
Sliding Beneath the Surface:St. Augustine Trilogy, Book I
Doug Dillon
     In America's oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida, teenager Jeff Golden is in trouble. Horrible dreams won't let him sleep, and he is up to his eyeballs in terrifying, paranormal experiences.     Finally, Jeff turns to his girlfriend Carla, and Lobo, the mysterious Native American shaman, for help. But what he discovers is a lot more than he bargained for.     A ghostly presence linked to a local historic cemetery is not only threatening Jeff's sanity but his life as well. And before he knows what's happening, Jeff finds both himself and Carla pulled into one of the nastiest and most bloody events in Florida history. It is a place from which they may never escape.        AUTHOR BIODoug Dillon has been writing for adults and young people since 1984, especially in the paranormal realm. An award winning educator, he spent many years as a classroom teacher, school administrator, and coordinator of programs for high-risk students. Prentice Hall, Harcourt, Mitchell Lane Publishers, Boys' Life magazine, Learning Magazine and The Orlando Sentinel have all published his work.OTHER BOOKS BY DOUG DILLON:     Nonfiction books for elementary through high school age students: A Brief Political and Geographic History of Asia; We Visit Venezuela; and Class Trip to St. Augustine. All of these books are offered by Mitchell Lane Publishers.     A nonfiction book on the paranormal for adults: Co-authored with Doug's wife Barbara, An Explosion of Being: An American Family's Journey into the Psychic is published through Old St. Augustine Publications.

Book Details

Stepping Off A Cliff: {The St. Augustine Trilogy: Book II} (Volume 2)
Stepping Off a Cliff: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II
An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine. Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy. In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and come face-to-face with what they come to realize are the true walking dead.

Book Details

Stepping Off A Cliff: [The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II]
Stepping Off a Cliff: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II
An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine. Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy.In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and come face-to-face with what they come to realize are the true walking dead.

Book Details

The Way the World Is (The Olivia Series Book 2)
The Way the World Is (Book 2 of the Olivia series)
Book 2 of the Olivia Series "Historical fiction at its best" -- D.Donovan, eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Review The Olivia series consists of: Book 1 - Olivia, Mourning (Historical - 1840s) Book 2 - The Way the World Is (Historical - 1840s) Book 3 - Whatever Happened to Mourning Free? (Vintage Contemporary -1967 and Historical - 1840s)Book 4 - The Summer of 1848 (Historical - 1848)The Way the World Is Please note that this is Book 2 of a series. While it can be read on its own, readers who begin with Book 1, Olivia, Mourning, will have a deeper understanding of the characters. After the devastating trauma she suffered in Olivia, Mourning and finally knowing the reality with which she must contend, Olivia strives to rebuild herself - emotionally, socially, and financially. She starts a new life in Detroit, the young and exciting city on a river where she has come to feel at home. New friends help the healing process, while she continues to search for the two people she loves, who have disappeared from her life. She finds some solace in helping fugitive slaves escape over the river to Canada. She believes, as one of her new friends says, "In this time and place it is the most worthy thing a person can do." Olivia remains a compelling protagonist on a journey to find a way to do the right thing in a world in which so much is wrong. About the Author Yael Politis grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, not far from Olivia's boarding house. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, she moved to Israel, where she has lived most of her adult life, working as an agricultural laborer, Hebrew-English translator, English teacher, technical writer, and proposal writer.

Book Details

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS