Nineteenth Century

Review - Fever by Jordan L. Hawk

My rating:

Colin and his older brother Doug have been making a living as con men since they left home to escape from their abusive father. They’re in Seattle when the first miners return from the Klondike, laden with gold from the newly discovered strike. Doug instantly sees an opportunity for a new con and soon the brothers are on their way with a new mark. Getting to the Yukon as winter closes in proves harder than expected, but Colin makes friends with Steve and his family, who are also out to strike it rich.

Tags: Thriller Supernatural Historical Nineteenth Century

Review - The Uses of Illicit Art by Wendy Palmer

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Kit is an Artisan, a person with magical powers. His rather unusual gift is locks. He can open almost any door, safe, or vault. After he registered with the Artisan's Guild, which is supposed to protect him, his information was leaked, and the young man became the target of unsavory characters that coerced Kit into helping them with their illegal activities. Of course, that got him into trouble with the very guild that was supposed to keep him safe, so now he's in hiding.

Tags: Fantasy Magic Victorian Era Nineteenth Century Queer

Review - Night's Melody by Drake LaMarque

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Matthieu has known Christophe since they were eight years old. The young man is more than a brother to Matthieu, who has grown to love the beautiful and talented Christophe. Lately, though, Christophe has disappeared for hours from time to time and has developed talents for more than dancing in the chorus. He finally confesses that an “angel” has been giving him lessons, although Matthieu fears that the angel is really the ghost rumored to haunt the opera.

Tags: Menage Nineteenth Century BDSM

Review - Beware Mohawks Bearing Gifts by SA Collins

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In an alternate universe, the British did not abandon the native Americans at the Treaty of Paris, ending the American revolution, and kept their promise to help the tribes establish their own homeland. Twenty years later, tensions are high between the confederated native lands and the nascent United States, which is hemmed in between the natives and the Atlantic Ocean. In New York, William Hallet is a bit of a dandy but has a taste for adventure.

Tags: Speculative Fiction Nineteenth Century America

Review - The Celestial

My rating:

This review originally appeared on Speak Its Name. As “The Celestial” opens, Todd is working his claim in the mountains near Truckee, about 90 miles northeast of Sacramento. It’s about 20 years after the California gold rush started, but there are still a lot of men like Todd staking claims and hoping to strike it rich. Egged on by his irascible uncle, who was invalided in the civil war, Todd has stole away in the night, leaving his mother to care for her brother on their tumble-down farm near Sacramento.

Tags: California Nineteenth Century Western Historical

Inspiration - Song of the Loon

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Song of the Loon by Richard Amory So, I was on my morning bike ride (cardio, don't you know) and this random thought entered my head, which happens a lot. It's how I get a lot of my ideas. Only this random thought was a memory of a book I'd read a few years ago, one that was rather influential for me in my writing, but which I haven't talked about.

Tags: America Nineteenth Century

Review - Cawnpore

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This review originally appeared at Speak Its Name. Cawnpore picks up more or less where the author’s previous work, The White Rajah, left off. Like the first book, this one takes the form of a memoir of the fictional John Williamson. Williamson has parted company with his employer and lover James Brooke after the inquiry into the battles that firmly established Brooke as the “White Rajah”. While Williamson is still in love with Brooke, the ghosts of all the people killed in Brooke’s name has driven a firm wedge between them.

Tags: India Nineteenth Century Historical

Review - Frost Fair

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Gideon Frost is a man skating on thin ice, almost literally. The young printer is barely keeping his business together, and his creditors are circling outside his door. He’s only just getting by, and when the need arises he’s not above selling his body for a few shillings to make ends meet. His one hope to get things back to black, for a while at least, is a commission for an engraving of Joshua Redfern’s new house.

Tags: Nineteenth Century Historical

Siamese Men of the Nineteenth Century

Siamese boatman of the nineteenth century In the "Journey" books, I've struggled a bit to describe the typical dress of the men of Southeast Asia, particularly Siam, in the nineteenth century. I've seen plenty of descriptions and illustrations, but how to describe it? It's a bit more than a 'loincloth' but not quite trousers. As luck would have it, in my other role as a travel writer I recently came across a rare nineteenth century photograph of a commoner.

Tags: Siamese Men Nineteenth Century