Review: Written in the Ashes ~ by K. Hollan Van Zant

Review by John for:  Written in the Ashes ~ by K. Hollan Van Zandt (2011)

Historical fiction with a touch of mysticism – set in Alexandra with an uncivil mixture of Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilization.

About:  It’s the 5th century, and as the Roman empire collapses there is turmoil in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. For centuries it has been the world’s greatest center of learning, epitomized by its fabulous and legendary Great Library, but now the city is plagued with unrest caused by religious factions. In particular the powerful Bishop, Cyril, is on a mission to convert or root out non-Christians; and all forms of Paganism are declared illegal and punishable by death.

The Great Library is used to opening its arms to learned people of all backgrounds and religions and Hypatia, its amazingly talented headmistress, does not appreciate the Bishop and his intolerant priests. Likewise, many of the city’s elders are used to worshipping their traditional old Gods and some are not prepared to bow down to the new order.

Into this volatile situation comes Hannah, a Jewish shepherd girl who has been kidnapped and sold as a slave to Alizar, an Alexandrian Alchemist. Aided by her fabulous singing voice and musical talents, she becomes involved with the Library, the Temple of Isis and a group of people determined to protect their rights and freedoms. Finally she must undertake a dangerous quest to the lost oracles of Delfi and Amun-Ra to find the Lost Tablet – the only thing that could help protect the pagans and the Great Library. But as tensions rise in the old city, time is quickly running out.

John’s thoughts:  There are many things about this book that I like. It’s set in a time and place where the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations are intermingling, and that makes for a fascinating backdrop. While I’ve always been interested in history, until recently (when I read “Cleopatra: A Life”) I knew little about Alexandria, and the more I find out about it the more intrigued I become – what an amazing city it was. Van Zandt then uses Alexandria and the turmoil of the time as a factual foundation for a story that helps to shed light on some dark deeds. It’s primarily storytelling rather than history, of course, and isn’t intended as a history book – nonetheless, I did learn a lot. The book was another reminder of some of the horrors that have happened as a result of religious dogma gone wild.

It’s an interesting story that weaves together history, adventure, a quest, a bit of mysticism, some strong female characters and a touch of romance - the story covers a lot of ground. I did find it somewhat sprawling and felt at times that there was too much in there; consequently the pace dropped off a bit. Personally I would have preferred some tighter editing and a lesser page count. Nonetheless this was an enjoyable read. If you enjoy historical fiction with a touch of the mystical, this one is for you. It’s also the first in a series, so there is more to come. I’d rate the book 3 stars.

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July 6, 2011 | Balboa Press | Hardcover | 448 pages.

Bio: K. Hollan Van Zandt has always loved libraries, oceans, ancient history and migrating birds. Her mentor, novelist Tom Robbins, instilled in her an abiding love and respect for language.She lives in Southern California, and dreams of a home in Greece. This, her first novel, took ten years to complete.  You can also find out more at her website; and her book group on Goodreads.com.

Here’s a link for the book’s trailer: http://youtu.be/4D3Gxf5AIjs

This book review is part of a blog tour, hosted by Virtual Author Book Tours. For more information on this tour for K. Hollan Van Zandt link to the website via the badge below:

Thanks for reading.

Incoming Books: Dark Shadows: Angelique’s Descent and The Salem Branch ~ by Lara Parker

Two re-releases up for review! 

Dark Shadows: Angelique’s Descent and The Salem Branch.

With the recent release of the movie Dark Shadows staring Johnny Depp as a very different sort of Barnabas Collins, there is a renewed interest in the cult series and anything related it. Tor too has joined in and has republished several books in honor of the movie’s release.

They are written by one of the original show’s characters Lara Parker, who played Angelique and contain a historical and gothic flavor which I am liking a lot.

The third in the series will be re-released later this year by Tor. It’s called Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising.

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Dark Shadows: Angelique’s Descent ~ by Lara Parker; Tor Books; April 2012.

Blurb:  The dashing heir of a New England shipping magnate, Barnabas Collins captures the heart of the exquisite, young Angelique amidst the sensual beauty of Martinique, her island home. But Angelique’s brief happiness is doomed when Barnabas deserts her and becomes engaged to another. With this one betrayal, Barnabas unleashes an evil that will torment him for all time.

For Angelique is no ordinary woman. Raised in the mysterious black art of voodoo witchcraft, she long ago pledged her soul to darkness and became immortal. Vowing to destroy Barnabas, a vengeful Angelique damns him to eternal life as a vampire—a companion to accompany her forever. Little does Angelique understand the depth of Barnabas’s fury....

Dark Shadows’s two most popular characters, Barnabas Collins and Angelique, were eternally bound by love and hate. Now actress Lara Parker, Angelique herself, tells the story of how it all began.

Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch ~ by Lara Parker; Tor Books; April 2012.

Blurb: Freed from his vampire curse, Barnabas Collins is ready to embark on a new life and marriage with his savior, the virtuous Dr. Julia Hoffman. But when Antoinette, a beautiful flower child with a shocking resemblance to the immortal witch Angelique, rebuilds the Old House, his past returns to haunt him. Discovering a grisly corpse in the basement--where his old casket once lay--Barnabas realizes another vampire has invaded his domain. His fight to protect his family from this new threat will take Barnabas back through time to an evil moment in America's history: the corrupt witch trials of old Salem.

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Author Bio:  Lara Parker grew up in Memphis, TN, attended graduate school at the University of Iowa, where she worked on a MA in Speech and Drama. She was cast as Angelique on Dark Shadows, and moved to Los Angeles in 1972.  In 2004 she earned a Master's Degree in Creative Writing, and now teaches in Los Angeles.

Lara has written three novels. Her first book was published in 1998 - Dark Shadows: Angelique's Descent. It was a bestseller and has been reprinted three times. In 2006 Tor Books released the sequel, The Salem Branch. Both have been re-released this April and a third Dark Shadows novel, Full Moon Rising is due out in fall.

Today Lara and her husband live in the Santa Monica mountains. For more information see the author’s blog: http://laraparkersite.blogspot.com/

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What are your experiences with the TV serial Dark Shadows and/or the new movie?

Summer Header: for Multi-Dimensional Space Trips!

It’s a new summer header! 

Our new multi-dimensional layered space-tripping header is live to spruce things up on the blog a bit. Since we may not be doing much actual travel this summer, we will be doing some other world travels via our reading experiences.

Like our floating astronauts here in this new header we hope you’ll join us in some of the new dimensions and places that we will be visiting this summer.

Header’s attribution: The end result was created by me, but the real credit goes to the picture’s artist:

• Autumnsonata
• The picture is titled “Psychonauts”.

Here’s to wishing everyone a great summer ahead!

Giveaway Hop: Splash into Summer ~ 5/25 to 5/31

Welcome to the Splash Into Summer Giveaway Hop ~ May 25th till the 31st! Hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Page Turner’s Blog. (To access our host’s original post for the hop, please link to her site via the badge above).

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There’s nothing better than reading a special book on a warm day. What’s even better is winning a great summer read. We have such a book for you that will be released in a few days. It even has summer in its title. How fun is that?

The Book of Summers ~ by Emylia Hall; May 29th 2012; Mira.

Blurb: Beth Lowe has been sent a parcel. Inside is a letter informing her that her long-estranged mother has died, and a scrapbook Beth has never seen before. Entitled The Book of Summers, it’s stuffed with photographs and mementos compiled by her mother to record the seven glorious childhood summers Beth spent in rural Hungary.

It was a time when she trod the tightrope between separated parents and two very different countries; her bewitching but imperfect Hungarian mother and her gentle, reticent English father; the dazzling house of a Hungarian artist and an empty-feeling cottage in deepest Devon. And it was a time that came to the most brutal of ends the year Beth turned sixteen.

Since then, Beth hasn’t allowed herself to think about those years of her childhood. But the arrival of The Book of Summers brings the past tumbling back into the present; as vivid, painful and vital as ever.

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• This book is available for US addresses only.
• Please be a reader/follower to enter this contest and fill out the Google form.

You Must Follow - you have a two ways to follow Layers of Thought:

1. Google: via the blog’s side bar (I will follow back if I can find your blog.) or
2. Facebook: for updates in your feed - add me as a friend.

Here are some Optional Ways to keep up to date:

1. Your Email Box. or
2. Twitter (I will follow back, if your account is not protected.) or
3. Feed Reader.

This contest and hop are now closed. Come back and visit since we will have another up very soon!

Guest Post: S.G. Browne ~ author of Lucky Bastard

Guest post and invite to join an interactive Q&A with S.G. Browne today at 6 pm Eastern time.

We have S.G. Browne here to share with us to his thoughts on his choice of setting for his recently published novel - Lucky Bastard.

We are especially curious since we live so very close to (and adore) San Francisco. And we think it’s a wonderful setting for a funny and exciting book! (See John’s recent review for Lucky Bastard.)

We also have an invite for you. It’s an interactive Q&A with the author (all information is listed below.) It’s for anyone who would like to ask S.G. Browne questions about his book, process, writing in general, or to lurk and listen. It’s happening at 6 pm Eastern time today (3 pm West Coast time for us here near the Pacific Ocean.)  Everyone is welcome! 

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Welcome S.G.!  With such a wonderful city and giving that you live there, tell us about your setting choice for your latest novel – Lucky Bastard?

The setting of a story can play an important role or it can just be a place to hold the action. Personally, I like it to matter, to be a silent character lurking in the background that doesn’t get much of a speaking role but nonetheless plays a part.

My first novel, Breathers, was set in Santa Cruz, where I lived for a dozen years, while my second novel, Fated, took place not quite exclusively in New York City.

When I moved to San Francisco six years ago, I knew at some point I would want to set one of my novels here. Turns out it ended up being the perfect place to host my third novel, Lucky Bastard.

Centered around a private detective by the name of Nick Monday who has the ability to steal luck, Lucky Bastard starts out on the roof of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel and then promptly jumps back in time about twelve hours to trace the path our hero takes that eventually leads him back to the hotel roof.

Doing the research was the easy part. I just had to step out my front door and start walking or get on a bus and take notes and pictures or sit down and write out a scene.

Because I discover the story as I write it, I didn’t plot out how Nick Monday would spend his day or where his actions would take him, but he ends up hitting famous and obscure locales alike, including Nob Hill, Chinatown, Lombard Street, Union Square, Starbucks, Bob’s Donuts, the Green Street Market, the Nite Cap Bar, O’Reilly’s Irish Pub, the Tenderloin, the Marina, Pacific Heights, and Harry Denton’s Starlight Room.

It’s a lot of ground to cover in a single day, but Nick Monday gets around.

So for an exciting trip to this fun city - explore it vicariously through this latest action packed novel. Thank you for sharing with us S.G.! 

(Picture credits are for the author and are of the Green Street Market and Harry Denton’s Starlight Room.)

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Now for a special invite for all our readers and writers out there in blog land!

Please join in the conversation today Wednesday, May 23 at 6:00pm EST (or 3:00pm for those of us on the west coast), S.G. Browne, author of critically acclaimed novels Breathers and Fated will be doing a virtual video chat through a new platform called Shindig.

He'll be reading and discussing his latest novel, Lucky Bastard, and hosting an interactive Q&A.  You’ll be connected globally online via webcam where you can socialize with other participants. Or if you'd prefer, you can just sit back and watch and listen. Here’s how it works. About 15 minutes before it starts, go to the following link and register: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3553934915

At this point, you might want to test your microphone and camera to make sure everything's working. Then when the event starts we'll have an interactive reading and discussion, complete with a Q&A session that will last about an hour. The more the merrier!

Date: Wednesday, May 23
Time: 6:00pm EST (3:00pm PST)

What questions do you have for S.G. Browne?