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Location: United States

Member Since: March 08, 2015

nathaniel68

Smashwords book reviews by nathaniel68

Community Organizing for Mercenaries on March 09, 2015

I read through the first three books of this series over the weekend after finding a link on a blog about alternate history stories that feature something other than the Confederacy winning the American Civil War or the Third Reich winning the Second World War. The basic premise is an attempt by a small group of Americans and British to change the outcome of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The quality of the writing from a strictly literary standpoint seemed to improve as the series progresses. The author bio says something along the lines of "third-rate writer trying to be second-rate" and I definitely think the author (or the editing) is getting better. The descriptions of the Battle of Hastings in the second book are well done. However, the series suffers from too many POV characters and the occasional important plot point happening outside the narrative and being referred to after the fact. Also, there seems to be, at least in the first three books, little or no contact with the higher levels of the Saxon aristocracy. I didn't expect the leader of the out-timers to sit down with King Harold but it seems odd that no one comes to collect the King's taxes or require an oath of this new Eorl or to require his attendance at some function or event. Once William of Normandy is defeated and sent packing, the out-times settle down in their rented town and deal with the locals who resent their strange ways and attempts to bring in new technologies and practices. I look forward to the next book in the series just to see what happens.