Ned Hayes's Blog, page 73
November 18, 2014
BOOK QUOTE:
"Stars steam away as a pale sun rises, hot coal...
BOOK QUOTE:
"Stars steam away as a pale sun rises, hot coal dropped in a watery sky. Light seeps across the forest as the reedy shrieks of wood fowl echo in the trees. The path from our village to the King’s Highway is no road at all. To the east, that faint track leads up through the forest until it reaches, finally, the open country and paths that lead to other places. Hob is taking us beyond the bounds of the known world.”
— from the novel SINFUL FOLK
BOOK QUOTE:
"Stars steam away as a pale sun rises, hot coal...
BOOK QUOTE:
"Stars steam away as a pale sun rises, hot coal dropped in a watery sky. Light seeps across the forest as the reedy shrieks of wood fowl echo in the trees. The path from our village to the King’s Highway is no road at all. To the east, that faint track leads up through the forest until it reaches, finally, the open country and paths that lead to other places. Hob is taking us beyond the bounds of the known world.”
— from the novel SINFUL FOLK
PHOTO: lonesome snowy hike by (Dandy’s Warden)
November 17, 2014
Book Review - Backporchevations
REVIEW from Backporchervations Absolutely fascinating! I missed a chance to read this book earlier in the year, and am so, SO glad to have had this opportunity.
I’d like to say that some of the prejudices outlined in this book set in the Dark Ages are no longer present in our world, but I’d be a liar.
Granted, the tragedy is horribly unimaginable. Five young boys burned to death. And it wasn’t an accident. Someone had tied the door to the house shut. We can only hope the perpetrator(s) would burn … for eternity. And, because of the religious climate of the time, the village folk blamed this on the Jews.
Only slightly less heinous, is the growing suspicions that these boys were going to be sold into ‘indentured servanthood’, which at the time was little better (if at all) than slavery. Lower social classes of the time could apparently not even travel out of their villages without written permission from whatever ‘nobleman’ ruled their area. This is another time period in which I would not have lasted long? A permission slip to travel to the next town over to visit family? Luckily for me, most of the words I would spew at anyone trying to stop me would probably be misunderstood. Unluckily for me, they would probably accuse me of witchcraft and cursing them with incantations.
And then there is Mear, aka Miriam. What a resourceful woman! After giving birth to a son, an earl tries to have her (and the child, I presume) killed – probably to avoid having a ‘bastard’ get any of his estate. Not only does Miriam get away with her son, but she manages to hide as the mute man ‘Mear’, and live in a small village for nearly ten years, including those first breastfeeding months!
As the ‘father’ of Christian, she travels with the other fathers (and the charred corpses) in order to demand justice against the supposedly Jewish murderers. They encounter many dangers and hardships on the way, and are eventually accused in a religious court at a monastery for not burying their dead sons and for theft and sentenced to death by fire. Incidentally, I was surprised at how long it took me to make the connection that Mear would have two problems if her secrets came out at that court. One, she was a woman dressed and living as a man, which I can’t believe the monks of the time would view as ‘natural’ and with a name like ‘Miriam’, many of her good Christian neighbors would probably turn on her.
Sinful Folk is an artfully worded historical fiction, as melodic as many ballads and religious chants of the time. It is also a wonderful lesson in the dangers of prejudice and jumping to conclusions. I can’t wait to read his next book.
If you like historical fiction, this book should be on your shelves! (Oh wait, this is 2014, ok, on your Kindle or Nook then.)
Book Review – Backporchevations was originally published on NedNote
Read books? Write a review, and win a Kindle...
My publisher is sponsoring a great holiday giveaway… of an Amazon Kindle Voyage! Details below…
Rules to Enter Giveaway Contest
Campanile Press is happy to announce a Holiday Giveaway for one new Kindle Voyage* for the holidays! This is Amazon’s new “shockingly good” e-book reader. All you have to do is write and publish one online review and send it to us in the form below byDECEMBER 15.
Campanile Press has picked four of our best performing books, Sinful Folk, Hope Road, Coeur d’Alene Waters and Velocity Math, along with one newly acquired book — Lightfall by Christian Carvajal – and provided links above to the review pages.
Write a posted online review for any of these books — great, good, bad, ugly — send us the link, and we’ll enter you into the Giveaway Contest for a new Kindle Voyage* from Amazon*, which will be mailed on December 15 for arrival before the winter holidays in the United States. (Yes, this contest is limited to residents of the United States.)
ENTER HERE »
November 16, 2014
Book Nerd: Book Review
Review from Book NerdWow! I had no idea what I was getting into with this book. Once I started reading it, I was engrossed with the story, the characters, the plot, the writing. There were so many twists and turns that I was on the edge of my seat. Mear was a fascinating character, she stayed with me. She haunted me, my heart broke for her, the injustices she suffered infuriated me. She is one of those characters that stays long after the story is over. I loved this book, spent many late nights reading it waiting to figure out what happened to these children. Tremendous story and book!
Praise for Sinful Folk
In December of 1377, five children are burned in a suspicious house fire. Awash in paranoia and prejudice, the fathers suspect it is the work of Jews and set out to seek justice from the king, loading the charred bodies of their boys onto a cart. Unbeknownst to them, among them is a woman, Mear, who has been hiding out in the town for the past 10 years posing as a mute man. It is a treacherous journey, for their rations are spare and the weather is brutal. And always, they are haunted by the question, Why were their boys in Benedict the weaver’s house, and who would do this to them? Mear, ever resourceful, not only watches for clues to unravel the mystery but also provides invaluable aid in finding their way, for she has traveled this way before and is the only literate one among them. The reason for her false identity is slowly revealed as the villagers are chased by bandits and must overcome numerous obstacles, hunger and fear among them. Brilliantly conceived and beautifully executed, Hayes’ novel is woven through with a deep knowledge of medieval history, all conveyed in mesmerizing prose. At the center of the novel is Mear, a brave and heartbreaking character whose story of triumph over adversity is a joy to read. –Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist *Starred Review*
Book Nerd: Book Review was originally published on NedNote
books connect minds.
books connect minds.
November 15, 2014
Sinful Folk: A Medieval Mystery Most Noir
***REVIEW from BOOK BABE***I’ve read medieval mysteries characterized as medieval noir, but Sinful Folk by Ned Hayes is as noir as it gets. The medieval villagers we meet in this novel have dark secrets, and a number of them have either committed terrible deeds, or stood by without protest while they were perpetrated. Many of the nobility who think of themselves as superior are no better. Characters who have principles are seen as simple and childlike. Christianity is not the faith of a loving God, but one that justifies acts of cruelty and intolerance. Welcome to a 14th century England where chivalry is very nearly dead, and hearts that are pure are likely to be pureed.
Many contemporary readers prefer dark fiction because they consider it more realistic. I am not one of them, but I do appreciate historical fiction that is well-written by a writer who has done some homework about the period. He certainly knows the work of Geoffrey Chaucer whose Canterbury Tales is the most iconic piece of literature associated with this era.
The author’s note “About Edward the Black Prince” interested me because The Black Prince looms large in the back story of the protagonist, Mear. Ned Hayes tells us that the motto of the Black Prince “Houmout” is mysterious, and that there is no scholarly agreement about its meaning. I have the tendency to run searches about historical issues in the books I read because I was a history major as an undergraduate. That’s why I wanted to see whether there was any consensus about Houmout. Indeed there was one. Everywhere I looked Houmout was said to be from Old Flemish or Low German, and that it meant courage or honor. There may be scholars who see Houmout differently, but I didn’t find any mention of such a disagreement in the online sources that I could freely access. The speculation in Hayes’ note is interesting, but it involves a major plot spoiler. So I will not discuss it further here.
The mystery of the four dead youths of this village who were burned alive is at the center of the narrative. Surprising developments arise during the process of discovering the truth about this awful crime. The truth about various characters changes over the course of the novel as their secrets are uncovered. I thought that the protagonist had layers of complexity while still being sympathetic. I wanted her to triumph against all the obstacles in her path, and I liked the bittersweet ending.
Sinful Folk: A Medieval Mystery Most Noir was originally published on NedNote
