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Hot off the presses today, my review for NPR Books of a new novel that taught me something about what historical fiction can be, and what to watch out for in writing the historical novel.
Bruce Holsinger’s medieval London, teeming with interesting personages such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Richard II, gets you in the gut. But is the writer’s story overwhelmed by fact? Read my take on it and find out.
It’s rare that a book is completely successful, at least to my eyes. An exception: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.
It is my thought that perhaps the scholar and author of this work would do best to err on the side of brevity. Too much detail, is … too much. However, your review I found neither too full of detail nor too short. It would seem you encouraged the reader and at the same time cautioned that reader away, which for some is the same as an outright dare. “Well, it’s good, but you might not have the stomach for it …”
My verdict: good review!
“Tired it” — maybe that wasn’t a typo
Ugh, I tired it and it was too thick for me
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