Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

I spent a lot of time creating content, articles, videos and all kinds of interesting stuff. i often don’t schedule myself time to take care of the products on my websites. Although this can be rather fun because it allows me to check on what new stuff that is out. Anyway, I have spent the last couple of days updating a lot of the products on my various medieval sites.  Here is a look at some of the things I have found.

Medieval Swords

My medieval swords website has been updated with a lot of new stuff. This is a quite popular little site that gets good ranking in the search engines and gets a good amount of traffic. You can see some of the swords that I own and read about them. You can also see some of the interesting sword topics like swords that are in video games (Which you can actually buy replicas of) and swords from the movies. One nice discovery I made is that the Assassin’s Creed Sword is available as a replica. Assassin’s creed is a terrific game that stays very true to the Italian Renaissance and this includes the reproduction of weapons.  I have a very interesting review of the architecture and design of this game here: About Assassin’s Creed

Medieval Toys and Games

I have also updated the section on Medieval Toys and games. These are the types of modern games that are available, not actually the games they played in the middle ages. The theme is on medieval and the section includes board games like Carcassonne.  I am currently working on a section of one of my websites that is all about the types of games they played in the Middle Ages. I will update you when it is complete. That will be an interesting thing to take a look at.

And Chess Sets of Course

When it comes to medieval toys and games Chess is a bit of a timeless anachronism. It is something they played in the Middle Ages and it is still very popular today. There is a tremedous variety of beautiful chess sets themed as medieval, king arthur, and Renaissance. You can see a selection of them here: Medieval Chess sets

I received this picture of a pair of medieval statues (Grave monuments) from a web visitor (Brad) who is a fan of all kinds of medieval things.  He needs help identifying the figures in the picture. I am not sure who these figures are and I could make a few guesses but I want to be sure. Maybe you recognize these statues. The architecture and stained glass in the background, not to mention the dress of the figures gives us some great clues as to the country and time period.

Anyway, If you recognize these figures just send me an email! And thanks for your help!

 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 a complete tutorial that shows you how to cheaply and easily make a spartan shield. It looks just like the ones they used in the movie 300.

But first you might want to take a look at a real spartan shield. The picture below is a shot I took of a real spartan shield in a museum in Athens Greece. The plaque reads: Bronze Spartan Shield - loot from the Battle of Pylos 425 B.C. This shield has seen some action.

If you want a closer look I have a bigger picture on my website here: A Real Spartan Shield

I also have a home video of the monument at the actual battlefield of Thermopylae where the battle of the 300 took place. It is on my youtube channel here: The Battle of Thermopylae monument

If you want to make your own Spartan Shield the tutorial is here: Make a Spartan shield 

Here is a picture of what it looks like when completed:

I do a lot of different dioramas and I do a lot of different siege engines. If you have been following me for a while you have probably seen some of my catapults, trebuchets and miniature castles. I recently got an email from a web visitor who has tied all these things together by making a large diorama of a castle with a very big front gate. But he also built the various siege engines that are attacking it.

This is a pretty cool project and it includes a trebuchet, battering ram and a Mantlet which is a portable shield that was used to protect warriors from arrows and other projectiles.

You can see the various aspects of his project on my website here: A Medieval Siege Diorama Project

You may also want to check out my 8 foot diorama called “The Battle Between Good and Evil” It has a castle with lighting, a mountain and a working waterfall.  A picture of this diorama is below.