Review: Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

Song of the Nile (Cleopatra's Daughter, Book #2)
by Stephanie Dray
Release Date: October 4th, 2011
2011 Berkley Trade (416 Pages)
E-book Edition; 391 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-425-24304-6
ASIN: B0052RDIX2
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review Copy from Author

4.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
Sorceress. Seductress. Schemer. Cleopatra’s daughter has become the emperor’s most unlikely apprentice and the one woman who can destroy his empire…


Having survived her perilous childhood as a royal captive of Rome, Selene pledged her loyalty to Augustus and swore she would become his very own Cleopatra. Now the young queen faces an uncertain destiny in a foreign land.

Forced to marry a man of the emperor’s choosing, Selene will not allow her new husband to rule in her name. She quickly establishes herself as a capable leader in her own right and as a religious icon. Beginning the hard work of building a new nation, she wins the love of her new subjects and makes herself vital to Rome by bringing forth bountiful harvests.

But it’s the magic of Isis flowing through her veins that makes her indispensable to the emperor. Against a backdrop of imperial politics and religious persecution, Cleopatra’s daughter beguiles her way to the very precipice of power. She has never forgotten her birthright, but will the price of her mother’s throne be more than she’s willing to pay?

My Thoughts
Song of the Nile was a fitting sequel to Lily of the Nile and I enjoyed it very much.  In fact, I actually thought it was better than the first book as it seemed to have that grit and edge to it that was not really present in the first one.  Song of the Nile continues to story of Selene, Cleopatra's daughter, as she marries Juba and settles in Mauritania as Queen and her struggles as she attempts to regain the throne of Egypt; subtle manoeuvers between herself and her husband and his Roman advisers who refuse to look upon her as anything but a young girl, earning the trust of the Berber people, looking for her lost twin, dealing with Rome and its demands, and learning that everything she does has a consequence.

One of the things I've always admired about these novels is the lushness of the writing and the descriptive scenes of the climate, including the political climate, of the time.  Amongst the beautifully described scenes, I could always picture the underlying tensions amongst the characters and I found this rather intriguing, how the author was able to weave the political and social tensions within the descriptions.  It really gave everything that extra-something that lifted these scenes into something else so for example, when Solene was raped, I could feel her horror and her humiliation so clearly and subtly as the story was woven around the setting.  The rape itself wasn't described in detail per se, but it was the descriptions of Selene's horror amongst the setting in which she was in that really gave it its power and left the reader in shock.  And this was done more than once throughout the novel.

As for Selene herself, I wasn't always impressed with her actions and her deeds and found her rather careless at times.  She seemed to be rather self-centered and focused only on regaining the throne of Egypt, and some of her actions were hurtful and disdainful to others.  There were times when I could have honestly shaken her, but then I wondered what I would have done in her situation if I had been her, surrounded by those whom I counted as enemy and I wasn't so sure if I would have acted differently.  I don't think I would have been so oppositional all of the time however, and maybe I would have listened a bit better to those around me.  I just found her obstinacy somewhat cloying for someone raised in the manner that she was, even if she was somewhat spoiled and jaded, and could not believe that she would not have learned how to get what she wants without arguing all of the time. 

I really enjoyed the plot to this novel as I adore this time period.  While some of the concepts tended to stray into the fantastical, take Selene's further interest and development into the mysteries of Isis for example, I focused more on the political nature of the novel rather than the fantasy.  I liked reading about the interplay between Juba and Selene and how they tried to resolve the many issues that faced them, especially with their differing backgrounds, and I liked learning more about the time period in general.  The plot moved fairly quickly, and even with many sidelines, it was not overly confusing and stayed pretty focused on the main concepts.  And while I wondered whether things were going to slip away from the author towards the middle of the novel, everything came together nicely towards the end and I was left feeling very satisfied with the ending, although I am now eagerly waiting for the next book in this series to find out what happens.

Verdict
Song of the Nile is a more than worthy sequel to Lily of the Nile.  Well-researched and beautifully written, Ms. Dray combines suspense, political intrigue, romance, and history into a well-crafted novel that I enjoyed very much.  While I wasn't as crazy about Selene in this novel, the end did make up for a lot of things and I really found the other characters fascinating and intriguing.  I highly recommend this novel and am definitely looking forward to the next installment of this series when it is released.

Review: The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

The Girl in the Gatehouse
by Julie Klassen
Release Date: January 1st, 2011
2010 Bethany House Publishers
Softcover Edition; 391 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0708-2
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Banished from the only home she's ever known, Mariah Aubrey hides herself away in an abandoned gatehouse on a distant relative's estate.  There she supports herself and her loyal servant the only way she knows how - by writing novels in secret.

When Captain Matthew Bryant leases the estate, he is intrigued by the beautiful girl in the gatehouse.  But there are manyt hings he doesn't know about this beguiling outcast.  Will he risk his plans - and his heart - for a woman shadowed by scandal?

My Thoughts
The Girl in the Gatehouse was a delightful tale of a woman, hidden away from the world due to a broken heart and indiscretions that have shamed her family, forced to survive in a world with few options available for women to support themselves.  Loosely based on characters from the Jane Austen novels, Ms Klassen draws on her admiration for female authors in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who often wrote under pseudonyms to hide their identities or anonymously, and introduces us to Mariah Aubrey, who secretly writes novels in order to support herself and her servants in her banishment. 

One of the things I enjoyed tremendously in this novel was the description of life during this time period.  I love learning about how life was in the past and the descriptions are wonderful.  There are some bleak moments in this novel and some cutting scenes about society and the cruelty of the gentry, Mariah's banishment being a perfect example, as well as some discussion about how women seem to take the worst in a situation, but it never becomes too serious, just hints and inuendos.  There is one telling scene that really highlights Mariah's plight and I love how the author handles it and how it all plays out in the end.  The novel tends to be more light in nature and while people suffer, and have suffered difficulties in their pasts, there still remains a lighthearted feel to the novel in general.  It reminds me much more of Little Women rather than Pride and Prejudice in nature in the sense that it's more light, rather than with Jane Austen's irony and cutting sarcasm.

While I liked Mariah and found her nature to be generous, the rest of the novel was peppered with so many interesting characters that I grew somewhat more fond of them than of Mariah and Matthew.  Don't get me wrong, I found Mariah and Matthew's storyline to be interesting, and I was mostly happy with the resolution, but I felt like something was missing in their relationship and I can't quite put my finger on it.  Perhaps it was the spiritual aspect that wasn't resolved satisfactorily as neither character seemed to explore that aspect of themselves that was introduced early on in the novel, but I'm not sure.  Anyways, Martin and Dixon's relationship I just loved and found it fascinating.  Martin himself is a perfect example as to how you can't judge someone from appearances and I did right away.  Yet, he continued to delight and amaze all the way through the novel and ended up being one of my favourite characters.  And the poorhouse characters were a delight, from sweet Miss Amy with her words of wisdom, to Prince who likes to climb the rooftop signalling to others, to George putting string across a road to catch a lady for a kiss.  I really enjoyed how Mariah and Dixon immersed themselves into life on the estate and became friends with people in the poorhouse, people who technically were below her position in life, despite her banishment.  This led to a lot of discussion about propriety and reputation that was fascinating and so central to this time period, a time period that I find was almost unforgiving in its judgment of others.  Ms. Klassen did a fantastic job in highlighting these discrepancies throughout her novel and giving the reader an insight into societal norms that existed at the time.

Verdict
The Girl in the Gatehouse was a sweet, delightful story that combines some interesting romantic interludes, a dash of intrigue surrounding some mysterious journals and a trunk, and a variety of quirky characters.  I enjoyed it tremendously and would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a good historical fiction that is more on the lighter side, especially if you're a fan of Jane Austen.

Review: The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner & Giveaway

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici: A Novel
by C.W. Gortner
Release Date: May 24, 2011 (Softcover Edition)
2010 Ballantine Books
Softcover Edition; 391 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-345-50187-5
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Review Copy from Pump Up Your Book! Virtual Book Tours

4.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
 The last legitimate descendant of the illustrious Medici line, Catherine suffers the expulsion of her family from her native Florence and narrowly escapes death at the hands of an enraged mob. While still a teenager, she is betrothed to Henri, son of François I of France, and sent from Italy to an unfamiliar realm where she is overshadowed and humiliated by her husband's lifelong mistress. Ever resilient, Catherine strives to create a role for herself through her patronage of the famous clairvoyant Nostradamus and her own innate gift as a seer. But in her fortieth year, Catherine is widowed, left alone with six young children as regent of a kingdom torn apart by religious discord and the ambitions of a treacherous nobility.

Relying on her tenacity, wit, and uncanny gift for compromise, Catherine seizes power, intent on securing the throne for her sons. She allies herself with the enigmatic Protestant leader Coligny, with whom she shares an intimate secret, and implacably carves a path toward peace, unaware that her own dark fate looms before her - a fate that, if she is to save France, will demand the sacrifice of her ideals, her reputation, and the passion of her embattled heart.

My Thoughts
I've always been absolutely fascinated with this era in history as there seemed to be an abundance of very strong female rulers who led rather interesting, if tumultuous, lives  That Catherine de Medici was at the center of a lot of events in Europe during this time is without doubt, and yet she always seemed to be branded in a negative light when compared to her counterparts.  I often wondered what would cause such a woman to have such a reputation and whether it was well-deserved or whether it was because she was such a strong figurehead that men would often brand her such a thing as they didn't know what to make of her.

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici shed some light on the personal side of Catherine's life and the personal tragedies she suffered, first in Italy and then in France as the Dauphine, as Queen living in the shadow of Diane de Poitiers, and then finally as Queen Mother and Regent valiantly trying to keep her family alive and strong.  With an immense amount of research blended into a fictional account of Catherine's life, we are given a rare insight into a woman who strove to save her family and attempted to survive by her wits in a country torn apart by religious strife and the countless manoeuverings of the nobility in a search for ultimate power.  Fact and fiction, mythology and legend all blended in seamlessly to give an engaging and interesting look at one of the most difficult and dare I say, misunderstood, women of the sixteenth century.

I have always been fascinated by Catherine and I thoroughly enjoyed the personal take on her life in this novel.  Some of the stories I've read about her portray her as more of a paragon, one who easily loses her temper, and has even beaten her own children, while in this novel, she appears softer and warmer.  Although references are make to her cold heart and to her political decisions, the story revolves more around the personal Catherine rather than the political one, probably the only thing in which I was disappointed in this novel.  I would have liked to have read more about some of the political issues that were glossed over in this novel, but the novel really wasn't about those; it was about her own personal life and the decisions that really affected that personal life.  Catherine did make some poor decisions with regards to the religious strife that was tearing her country apart as I don't think she ever fully realized the full nature of the Huguenot religion and how far they would defend their right to worship and lead as they saw fit; I think she only saw it in a political sense and didn't look beyond the implications of that.  I also don't think she ever truly saw her children for what they were and who they were, but only as pawns to the throne she was protecting.  While she certainly loved them, she definitely underestimated the political influence they carried and was blind to their faults and their strengths. I also believe she made poor choices in some of the people she chose to trust in her inner circle, blind to the depths that some will go if given cause, and had to deal with the repercussions of trusting people who ultimately betrayed her trust.

Gortner writes with a beautiful lyrical style that evokes the power of his characters and makes you feel like you are right there with them.  From the amazing and deep Nostradamus, to the stern Philip II of Spain, to Coligny, to Henri de Navarre, to Diane de Poitiers, to her children, all are noteworthy characters in a novel full of vivid historical figures ready to leap off the page.  The descriptions of France during that time are great as well, and having visited most of the places talked about in the novel, I could envision the court at Amboise or Chenonceux, the colour and the pageantry that would have existed at that time, as well as the vivid details of the squalor and destruction that the religious wars left behind.

Catherine seems to come into her own far more fully once a widow, and I found her a lot more interesting during this time period.  Gortner makes use of the legends and stories that surrounded Catherine while alive, addressing the issues of sorcery and her reputation as a witch and "la serpente", all the while keeping her human characteristics alive and making her seem more human.  While Catherine was often able to laugh off some of the things said about her, she often used them to great effect in her capacity as queen, often allowing the rumours to persist.  She is continued to be seen as a woman who saved the throne of France until the French Revolution, never losing faith in her religion, always believing there could be peace between the Catholics and the Huguenots.  It is refreshing to read about Catherine as a woman and a mother, rather than as a ruthless ruler who will do anything to achieve an end.

Verdict
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici is an entertaining, fun read about the life of an enigmatic, difficult queen.  If you are looking for an account of Catherine's political life and political achievements (and perhaps a more accurate historical truth), I am afraid you will be disappointed and need to look elsewhere.  However, this novel gives us a more personal view into what life would have been like for a young woman, torn from her native country, and brought to marry into a political powerhouse and forced to navigate the difficult waters that ensued, especially considering the religious strife that existed during this time.   I found myself engrossed in Catherine's life, and enjoyed reading this more personal account of the woman she would have been.  I am definitely looking foward to reading Gortner's next novel, a focus on Isabel of Castile, when it is released.

Giveaway
One lucky reader will have the chance to win a copy of The Confessions of Catherine de Medici.  Contest closes 30 June 2011.  Contest is open to residents of Canada and the United States.

Mandatory Entry:  Please leave a comment and don't forget to include your email address.

Review: The Second Duchess by Elizabeth Loupas

The Second Duchess
by Elizabeth Loupas
Release Date: March 1, 2011
2011 New American Library
Softcover Edition; 387 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-451-23215-1
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

4.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
In a city-state known for magnificence, where love affairs and conspiracies play out amidst brilliant painters, poets and musicians, the powerful and ambitious Alfonso d'Este, duke of Ferrara, takes a new bride. Half of Europe is certain he murdered his first wife, Lucrezia, the luminous child of the Medici. But no one dares accuse him, and no one has proof-least of all his second duchess, the far less beautiful but delightfully clever Barbara of Austria.


At first determined to ignore the rumors about her new husband, Barbara embraces the pleasures of the Ferrarese court. Yet wherever she turns she hears whispers of the first duchess's wayward life and mysterious death. Barbara asks questions-a dangerous mistake for a duchess of Ferrara. Suddenly, to save her own life, Barbara has no choice but to risk the duke's terrifying displeasure and discover the truth of Lucrezia's death-or she will share her fate.

My Thoughts
The Second Duchess was completely mesmerizing and captivating right from the start.  I fell in love completely with this decadent world of power that Ms. Loupas set before us, totally enthralled by the sights and sounds of Renaissance Italy and its world of wealth and power.  The descriptions of daily life, clothing, routines, furniture, artwork, and other elements of this world, were fascinating and I soaked it up completely.  The fact that I absolutely love the world of the Borgias and the de Medicis and the Estes certainly helped and I thought this was a worthy addition to the literature that already abounds about this period.

Archduchess Barbara of Austria, daughter to Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, is a woman after my own heart.  A deeply religious woman due to her religious upbringing, she embraced her marriage and her new life with enthusiasm and excitement, if a little trepidation.  Surrounding her everywhere she went were rumours of the first Duchess, Lucrezia de Medici, who died under suspicious circumstances a mere two years after her marriage to Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara.  Having a will of her own, and an obstinate nature, Barbara set out to find the truth, to protect herself as well as to sate her natural curiosity, and only managed to irk the duke into temper, learning that being Archduchess means absolutely nothing in Ferrara.  Submitting to her Lord and husband takes precedence, and this presents a difficult choice for the independent Barbara who secretly seethes with anger and fear against her restraints.  For me, I was continuously shocked by some of the ways women were treated during this time period, sometimes being beaten by their husbands for disobeying them, and for having independent natures.  Although I have studied a lot of history, being a modern women, it is so hard to reconcile this concept as it is so different to what we have today.  To be at the mercy of someone's whim would be difficult and frightening, particularly if the Lord were not very merciful.  Barbara had a lot of courage and a will of iron, something that really endeared me to her, and made me very sympathetic to her cause;  I felt so much empathy for Barbara and recognized the genius in Ms. Loupas's writing that allowed this to come to pass.

The mystery itself was also rather intriguing.  I knew about Lucrezia de Medici, only in passing, but I did read some of the controversy surrounding her death long before this novel.  While the mystery intertwines many of the events, for me it was the court intrigues that were the most fascinating and deadly.  How Barbara was able to put up with all of the intrigues, day in and day out, is beyond me, because just reading some of the things that were swirling around her and the duke, were giving me a headache.  The world that was created was so believable, I felt like I was right there, part of the court.  And the lack of privacy, and having people constantly around you all of the time, would drive one absolutely crazy. 

The only thing in this novel that bothered me, and only just slightly, was the use of the immobili, for advancement of the story.  While I understand the purpose for its use, I sort of wish it hadn't been included, as I felt it wasn't really necessary; the story and the mystery were great enough that readers could figure out a lot of the ideas without the help of the immobili.  One of the benefits from its use, that I could see, would be to give us a sense of Lucrezia's personality, something we would not have gleaned as much had it not been used.  I'm just not sure it was necesssary.

Verdict
The Second Duchess takes a look at one of the lasting mysteries of the Renaissance, crafting a compelling tale set amidst a glittering court full of intrigue and deadly secrets.   I had a hard time putting the book down, and was caught up in Barbara's investigation and the truths that were unveiled.  Ms. Loupas's writing style is masterful, creating a novel that was suspenseful, complex, and peopled with quirky and difficult characters.  I was so glad to read that she would like to continue writing about the adventures of Barbara and Alfonso in further novels.  For anyone interested in Renaissance Italy, and the life of the rich and powerful that includes a real-life mystery, then I highly recommend this novel.

Review: Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers

Bride of New France
by Suzanne Desrochers
Release Date:  January 18, 2011
2011 Penguin Canada
Softcover Edition; 294 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-14-317338-0
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Bride of New France was an interesting and fascinating tale of life in both France and in New France by debut author Suzanne Desrochers.

Bride of New France tells the story of Laure Beausejour, who at seven-years-old, was taken away from her parents and sent to live in Salpetriere, a dormitory in Paris surrounded by prostitutes, the insane, and other forgotten women.  With her closest friend Madeleine, she learns needlework skills and dreams of one day opening her own shop and marrying well.  But in 1669, due to circumstances beyond her control, Madeleine and Laure are sent to New France as filles du roi, part of the king's mandate to clean the streets of the destitute, but also to populate his new colony in the new world by sending women to marry the men and bear children.  Laure and Madeleine now have to face a terrible journey across the Atlantic into an unknown destination where all they've heard about is the ferocious winters and men who eat the heart of French priests.  To be banished to Canada is a terrible fate and Laure wonders what she has done to deserve this fate.

As a Canadian with roots in French Canada, I was excited to be able to read this novel.  Ms. Desrochers has a way of bringing history to life and I could picture the way everything looked, felt, and smelt.  The early lives of these settlers were pretty brutal and many people died or couldn't handle it and returned to France.  Because the story revolved around Laure, many of the details of the settlement did fade into the background which disappointed me as I wanted to learn more, but it is a fiction novel and not a non-fiction tale.

Laure's character was an interesting persona.  To be honest, I wasn't sure if I liked her or not as she had this coldness about her that I couldn't understand a lot of the time.  She wrapped herself in a kind of aloofness that kept her from associating with other girls, whether in Salpetriere or on the ship or in the settlement in New France.  I understood that this aloofness was her way of fighting for whatever little bit she could get in an environment that was unforgiving and ruthless, but there were times when I wish she showed a little more compassion for others.  Knowing the challenges that she would have faced coming from France and trying to eke out a living in New France on her own, little expecting the brutality of a Canadian winter, I can understand her temerity to want to try to survive on her own, but there were times when I could have shaken her and told her it's not a sign of weakness to ask for help once in a while.  I also found her feelings of superiority to the other filles du roi somewhat snobby.  Again, I understand it's self-protection in a very difficult world, but I often wondered if she would have fared better if she trusted a little more.  Yet, despite all this, I rooted for her all of the time.  I wanted her to succeed, to be happy, and to get that little bit that should be hers. 

The first part of the novel takes place in France, and you get a vivid description of Laure's life during this time.  She suffers through many trials, always hungry, cold, and facing a life of dreadful poverty, and the descriptions of Paris are pretty amazing.  I felt like I was right there, feeling Laure's hunger and her desperation.  The rest of the novel deals with the voyage across the ocean and Laure's life in New France.  Again, the descriptions are vivid, with great descriptions of life and secondary characters in New France.  I especially enjoyed reading about Madame Rouillard and would have liked to have learned more about her.  The plot was interesting and in many parts, unexpected.  I certainly didn't expect Laure's life to go the way it did.  I am left wondering what happened to Laure and Madame Rouillard after the novel ended.

Bride of New France was a fascinating read about the early settlement in New France.  I am definitely looking forward to many more novels from Suzanne Desrochers.

Review: A New Birth of Freedom by Robert G. Pielke

A New Birth of Freedom: The Visitor
by Robert G. Pielke
Release Date: August 15, 2010
2010 Altered Dimensions Press
Softcover Edition; 226 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-936021-23-9
Genre: Historical Fiction / Science Fiction
Source: Review Copy from Tribute Books

Summary
When a stranger carrying a shiny, metalic valise steps aboard a train carrying Abraham Lincoln home from a 2 year stint in Congress, everyone stares, wondering about the stranger’s odd clothing and strange footwear with the word Nike emblazoned on them.


When the strange man shows up in Lincoln’s office at the White house 14 years later, still wearing the same clothes, carrying the same valise and looking not a day older, the president and his staff know something is odd.

But when Edwin Blair opens his valise and projects a 3d image of the Earth on Lincoln’s wall, then proceeds to tell a fanciful tale about time traveling aliens preparing to land at Gettysburg on July 3rd, they are sure they’ve met a lunatic.

Unfortunately for them, they’re wrong.

A New Birth of Freedom: The Visitor, is the first science fiction time travel book in a new alternate history series that follows the adventures of Edwin Blair and the aliens known as Pests as they chase each other through all the centuries of Earth’s past, present and future.

My Thoughts
I really enjoyed this interesting and fascinating twist on the Civil War.  I had the privilege of visiting Gettysburg for the first time last summer, and learned about the horrible conditions and the massive loss of life and the aftermath the battle had on the citizens in the area.  It stayed with me for days afterwards, and although it's an area of history I am not as familiar with, I decided to remedy that situation.  Therefore I leapt at the chance to review this book.

Edwin Blair is a desperate man who travels more than three hundred years in the past in order to stop an alien invasion force that has taken over the United States in the future.  It is something he has already done several times, each time correcting an error he has made, to perfect the time travelling technique, to stop the Pests from taking over at the Battle of Gettysburg and destroying his future home.  He is in a quandrary most of the time, never knowing how much information to provide to the historical figures he has so much knowledge about in the future, and how much information he should withhold.   But when things change dramatically, and they capture prisoners of war, Pests who are willing to communicate and help, rather than destroy, it changes all of his plans, and the future.  Blair needs to trust the people he has studied to help him with a future he no longer knows.  I love how Blair leaves himself little clues, without remembering how and why he did it, to help himself remember, but doesn't know what they mean or how to use them.  It just leaves you wanting to know more and gives you a little insight into what might happen in the next two books.

I enjoyed reading about the historical figures; in particular, about the meeting between General Meade and General Lee.  They had to work together in this novel in order to help fend off the invasion, and a meeting between the two of them at Gettysburg would have been historical indeed.  Throw in all of the other famous generals and colonels, and it was so momentous.  The tension was thick, but the author did a brilliant job tying everything together yet keeping true to what we know of all of the different personalities and the time period.  I couldn't get enough of all the famous personalities, including Abraham Lincoln, and enjoyed it so much.  Because I've been there, I could visualize the entire setting in my mind, with the dead bodies all around them, for the battle did happen for the first two days before the events in this novel. 

I really enjoyed reading an alternate reason for the carnage of the three days of the Battle.  Sometimes when something so horrible happens, we often look for other reasons as to how an event like this can occur.  How is it possible that so many men could have possibly perished in three days, with a like number of men injured?  How could men have continued with the horrid conditions that surrounded them, watching friend and foe shot down, knowing they could be next?  Mr. Pielke gives us an alternate reason for the horrible actions of those three days, an alternate solution that justifies the unbelievable devastation that took place over this time.  What if everything was not as it seemed?  What if the Battle was different that what we thought?  Would it be more palatable if another force was responsible for what happened?

Verdict
A New Birth of Freedom; The Visitor was a fascinating novel about the Battle of Gettysburg with a science-fiction twist.  The arrival of the Pests, an alien life force, changed the Battle forever and forced the two contending sides to work together against a common foe with life-altering changes.  I enjoyed the historical descriptions and especially enjoyed the historical personalities present in this novel.  I am eagerly looking forward to the second novel in this trilogy, A New Birth of Freedom: The Translator.

Robert G. Pielke's Bio:

Robert G. Pielke, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, now lives in Claremont, California. He earned a B.A. in History at the University of Maryland, an M. Div. in Systematic Theology at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and a Ph.D. in Social Ethics from the Claremont Graduate School.

He taught on ground and online for countless years at George Mason University in Virginia, El Camino College in California and online for the University of Phoenix. Now happily retired from “the job,” he is doing what he always wanted to do since he wrote his first novel at ten in elementary school. It was one paragraph, three pages long and, although he didn’t know it at the time, it was alternate history.

His academic writings have been in the area of ethics, including a boring academic treatise called Critiquing Moral Arguments, logic, and popular culture. Included in the latter is an analysis of rock music entitled You Say You Want a Revolution: Rock Music in American Culture. He has also published short stories, feature articles, film and restaurant reviews. His novels include a savagely satirical novel on America and its foibles, proclivities and propensities, Hitler the Cat Goes West, and an alternate history, science fiction novel, The Mission.

Most recently, he has updated and revised his book on rock music, which is being republished by McFarland & Co.

He swims daily, skis occasionally, cooks as an avocation, watches innumerable movies, collects rock and roll concert films, is an avid devotee of Maryland crabs and maintains a rarely visited blog filled with his social and political ravings. His favorite film is the original Hairspray; his favorite song is “A Day in the Life”; his favorite pizza is from the original Ledo Restaurant in College Park, MD; and he is a firm believer in the efficacy of “sex, drugs and rock and roll.” Somehow his family and friends put up with him.
 
Robert G. Pielke's Web Site: http://www.robertgpielke.com/
Robert G. Pielke's Blog: http://www.bobpielke.com
Robert G. Pielke's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/robert.pielke
Altered Dimension Press Web site: http://www.sciencefictionpaperbackbooks.com/a-birth-of-new-freedom
Blog Tour Web Site: http://anewbirthoffreedom-thevisitor.blogspot.com/
 
A New Birth of Freedom Trailer:

 
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