This attempt to place a medieval hero in modern context utterly failed with me. What does it say about me that I know exactly who Hereward is, but drew a blank when it came to Jack Bauer? My TV watching is limited to the evening news, PBS, and American Idol, with the occasional (and frequently unintentional) viewing of Formula 1 races and Major League Baseball.
(re: this publishing deal below)
James Wilde's HEREWARD, about a medieval Jack Bauer, single-handedly beating back the enemy in this brutal novel of war and revenge set in England during the Norman Conquest: rivers run red, disease stalks the land, and ancient prophecies fall into place - it is a time of ghosts, curses, demon-dogs and angels: a time for heroes, THE DEVIL'S ARMY, and END OF DAYS, to Simon Taylor at Transworld, in a very nice deal, for publication in spring 2011, by Ian Drury at Sheil Land Associates.
About Me
- Sarah Johnson
- Collection management librarian, readers' advisor, avid historical fiction reader, NBCC member. Book review editor for the Historical Novels Review and Booklist reviewer. Recipient of ALA's Louis Shores Award for book reviewing (2012). Blogging since 2006.
Hello blog readers - I just received a notice from Blogger that Reading the Past has been tagged as a "potential spam blog," meaning I'm unable to post anything new to it until they review and unlock it. If they don't review it positively, they say the blog will be deleted within 20 days. I'm not sure what happened to trigger this, but I got notified as soon as this current post went live... anyway, I hope to be back up and running shortly, as I have plans for future interviews and guest posts!
ReplyDeleteHope you're back soon!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm afraid I don't know who Jack Bauer is either.
I had to Google him to find out.
ReplyDeleteWhat's almost funny - the only things on this blog that could possibly be taken as gibberish (okay, maybe I flatter myself) are the bizarre search terms I recently posted about. Some of which I cited precisely because they were nonsensical. I'll think twice before doing one of those posts again.
I hope your blog returns!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea who Jack Bauer is :(
You're not alone. I knew Hereward immediately but had to Google the other guy.
ReplyDeleteHopefully Blogger will unblock your blog as soon as they review it.
LOL - I don't watch 24, but I do know who Jack Bauer is - somehow I picked up that bit o' trivia somewhere. But I ALSO know who Hereward is :)
ReplyDeleteSo who is Jack Bauer?
ReplyDeleteHe's the protagonist of 24... which I've never seen and have only heard of because it used to be on after American Idol.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Jack Bauer either, but I generally tend to have my head in a book, rather than watching TV.
ReplyDeleteYet another novel about Hereward? He has become a favorite subject in recent times, with various authors tackling his story, including Mike Ripley and Jack Ogden An outlaw always makes a great focus for a story, and someone with a sword named 'Brainbiter" has to be a warrior to watch out for! I thought i'd read all the Hereward novels around, but I came across yet another title the other day, a 1991 book called "The Saxon Tapestry", by Sile Rice. I'll have to add this forthcoming one to my watchlist.
Annis, what did you think of Mike Ripley's version? I see it on Amazon occasionally and have wondered about buying it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed The Saxon Tapestry, especially the author's use of language, though it's quite fantastical, and I know some purists who've had problems with it.
Glad that Blogger has decided you're a no longer a spam threat :) I enjoyed "Saxon Tapestry"- the language is unusual and poetic and the spirit of the land and the natural world inhabits the story in a quite magical way. It's possibly more in the area of fable than straight HF.
ReplyDeleteImagine Bernard Cornwell's "Azincourt " set in the Fens, and you'll get the drift of Mike Ripley's "Hereward". Blood and mud galore! No sign of the Ripley humour here, not even the black sort. Ripley tells the story through historian Gerald of Wales, who researching the earlier Chronicles of Hereward for the truth of the outlaw's exploits . Compelling, but not for the faint-hearted.
Thanks for the information - that encourages me to look for it, actually, as I don't think I'd care much for a jocular version of Hereward's story, and Gerald of Wales has always seemed like an interesting character to me.
ReplyDeleteRipley's version is grittily realistic as opposed to fantastical, but given that all novels based on Hereward's life draw heavily on the twelfth century "De Gestis Herewardii", which is itself to a large degree fantasy, I don't have a problem with a version like "Saxon Tapestry". One reason why Hereward is a fascinating subject is that the lines between fact and legend are so blurred- it certainly makes fertile ground for an author.
ReplyDelete