March 24, 2022

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Here is an archive of my historical fiction book reviews. Although I read broadly, I primarily enjoy reading historical fiction that is set in a period over 50-100 years ago. The traditional “cut off” point for historical fiction is 50 years or more, but to me, “historical” fiction should be older than I am.

Sic Parvis Magna Image: Historical Fiction of Paul Jariabek Halberdier overlaid onto an antique map of the Tavistock Area

Sic Parvis Magna Update and Opening Scene

Had nothing happened, the 8-year-old, ruddy-haired Francis might have followed 300 years of family tradition. He lived in Tavistock, a small village in southwest England. He might have become a tenant farmer, tending to the land and husbanding the animals, or would have followed his father’s footsteps, becoming a preacher, living out his life in quietude and never venturing outside of the village. And history would not have taken a second glance.
But as it pleased the Almighty, the events of 1548 thrust his life in a very different direction. Little did he know that in mere six years, he would be on his way to become one of the greatest mariners, a legendary English admiral, and a feared pirate ‘El Draque,’ the sworn enemy of the Spanish Crown.

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