Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

 A New MainStream Big Title by Robin Hobb

I have been a reader of Robin Hobb for a long time. I just enjoy her books. Here new book “Dragon Haven” is scheduled for release in May. You can pre-order it now on Amazon.com here: Dragon Haven That’s terrific and I am really looking forward to it but the thing I really want to say about this book is the Harper Collins decision to give away the complete first chapter (over 50 pages). It is a free pdf download. I think this is a great promotion and it says a lot about the book. A publisher has to really believe in an author and in the writing to do something like this. Well, I would imagine that Robin Hobb is in that top tier of writers. You can open it up right here: Chapter One of Dragon Haven 

This book is the second in a new series by Hobb. The first book is Dragon Keeper and if you want to know about her other series of books you can see a complete list on my Fantasy Guide Website here: Robin Hobb Books

And a little something from the small press: (Although with the power of Amazon.com backing it I am not sure we should categorize CreateSpace as a small press

Not Ordinarily Borrowable: or, Unwelcome Advice by Thomas Thurman

Here is a fun childrens and young adult fantasy story about a young woman who goes to the library to check out a book. When she gets there she discovers that a dragon had been there, wreaked havoc, and stolen her book (among others). So, what should she do? Should she follow after the dragon and attempt to recover the book? This is exactly what Maria does. It is a wonderful little tale as we adventure along with Maria and watch as the gains the things she needs to face the dragon.

If you are looking for something that is lesser known yet well written and a fun read this is the book.  It’s always a pleasure to discover a little gem that nobody else knows about.  But don’t try to check this book out from the library. You may discover it has been mysteriously taken!!

About My Fantasy Guide Website:

I have been writing and reading Epic and Heroic Fantasy of all kinds for pretty much all my life. It is something I am really passionate about. if you love this subject or are simply interested in it you can check out my website called “The Fantasy Guide”. Lots of stuff there including reviews by me and other writers and the biggest list of epic fantasy series books on the web.  The Fantasy Guide Website

I have been having a lot fun delving into the genre of the vampire novel and I have a new section on my fantasy guide website that is all about vampires. This includes a brief history of the vampire story which goes back quite a bit further than the classic Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I also have a guest reviewer who has been writing reviews of some of the more popular vampire series which of course includes the Twilight Saga. If you are interested in vampire stories you can check out my new section here: The Fantasy Guide to Vampire Novels

And… I am always looking for reviews of Fantasy novels. If you read in the whole epic fantasy or high fantasy genre and would like to contribute a review of your favorite book or books then make sure you contact me through that website!

I bought my son an Xbox for Christmas. You may have seen the youtube videos about this.  How to make an Xbox for Christmas. Well, the first thing he did, was to go out and get the Game Assassins Creed II and I spent a few hours yesterday watching him play it. And frankly I was stunned. THis game is remarkable for a few different reasons.

First off, it takes place in 15th century Italy which was smack dab in the middle of the Renaissance. So, did the developers of the game take advantage of this fact? Darn right they did.  Italy of this time is wide open to you - from Venice to Florence, Tuscany and much more. This is great but there is so much more. I was stunned by how much research Ubi Soft did for the making of this game. The weapons, and armor are all accurate to the time and place. There were plenty of Glaives, pikes, warhammers, and battle axes. Everything is just so amazingly accurate in the game. And, the various weapons and armor are all affected by the opponents weapons and armor. Battling a well armored knight? Better put away the dagger and use a warhammer on him.

But the game goes well beyond just the weapons and armor. It also delves deeply into what Italy was like during this period of time. While playing we stumbled into a character named Leonardo and accompanied him to his workshop (DaVinci of course). And while riding on his horse drawn wagon I noticed a very familiar looking piece of equipment hidden in the back. Looked to me like it was the famous DaVinci flying machine and I have a hunch that it will come into play later in the game.

But also, there is an important plot point in Venice where we have to get into a  church called “Santa Maria dei Frari. And of course this church is a beautifully rendered exact  model of the actual church in Venice. You can learn about it in the game - it gives you the history of it and tells you a little bit about it. Which is just amazing. Supposedly there is a burial tomb inside that we need to get into.

I also learned about a new weapon. My son purchased a weapon called a Metal Cestus.  It is a metal glove similar to a brass knuckle. He asked me if this too was real to the period and I had to admit I didn’t know for sure but judging by the rest of the game I figured it probably was a real weapon of the time period. Looking it up I found out that it sure is. Cestus Battle Glove

All in all I was simply stunned by the beauty of the game, the realism of game play and the careful attentioin to detail that Ubi Soft put into it. It is really wonderful to learn a little bit while playing

In february a new video game is being released called Dante’s Inferno and it looks like it is going to be a terrific game. It is based on one third of the Triptych poem by Dante, the Inferno (Hell). One of the most interesting things about this video game is the ease of creativity that came with it. It is almost as if Dante were designing a video game when he wrote the Divine Comedy. And it is easy to see how the story could be adapted to a video game.

First off it has an overarching theme “Beatrice has been kidnapped to the depths of hell and our hero “Dante” has to enter and rescue her. - pretty much a perfect overall theme.

Secondly, Hell is broken down into nine levels. Hmmm… can it get any more video game than that? Nine levels to battle through and each level with it’s own theme like Lust, Gluttony, Wrath, Violence etc.

Finally when you are making a video game a lot of thought has to go into the environment or world that the game takes place in. Will it be set in a medieval world? A far-off planet? In the case of this game it takes place in what might be the best environment of all - Hell! Does it get any better than that?

An awful lot has been made of Joseph Campbell’s Heroes Journey. And well, it’s a great idea and a near perfect formula that just about every epic fantasy book or movie follows. Heck, even stuff that is not epic fantasy follows the Heroes Journey. But, it seems to me that Dante had this formula figured out a full seven hundred years earlier!

English Castles 1200-1300 (Fortress) The 13th Century is probably the most interesting period of time in the development of medieval castles as fortresses. It was a period of much activity and it is often considered to be the zenith of the whole castle development history. The end of this century was when William Wallace lived (of Braveheart fame) who was executed in 1301 which pretty much denoted the end of the whole period. During this time there weren’t a whole lot of new castles built. Rather, many of the existing wooden, and motte and bailey castles were upgraded, rebuilt, restored and reinforced. Often upgraded from wood to stone and with sophisticated improvements such as gatehouses, concentric rings of defense, the barbican, circular towers and moats. It was during this time that these improvements in defense were created and instituted into castles.It is also during this time that the role of the fortress changed from a fortification against attack to a place where royalty and others actually lived. This period saw the development of living quarters, gardens and other things that made it a place that could also be comfortably lived in during times of peace.
What’s in the book
This is a small book with only 64 pages but it is very informative and chock full of wonderful information about castles and castle building during this period of time. It has a lot of wonderful pictures and quite a few amazing illustrations that show castle development and castle floor plans. There is also a wonderful list at the end of the book that describes the castles of the period that are still standing (or partially standing) today. With information about where they are if you want to visit them.Castle development was a very expensive and time consuming affair and it is something that the rich and powerful kings, lords and dukes undertook at great expense and the book also takes a look at this aspect of the process . There is a lot of information about the powerful leaders of the time and how they went about consolidating their power and building their castles. And although this part of the history of castles is not particularly interesting to me it was a very important part of the process and it determined a lot of what actually happened during the century.

If you are a big fan of medieval castles this book is a must have. It covers all of the aspects of the development of the fortress during the most important century of their timeline. It covers finances, architecture, the major figures and all of the major castles of the time. It takes a look at how the castles was changed and upgraded for peace, for war and for living arrangements.

This book is available on Amazon.com English Castles 1200-1300 (Fortress)

If you love Medieval Castles check out my website: Medieval Castles