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Cast in Time #2
Baron of the Middle Counties
An Engineer finds himself in an Alternate reality, Cornwall, in the year 715 A.D. He awakens in the body of a young Baron.
A retired Lieutenant General, former head of the Army Corp of Engineers, lies dying at the age of ninety-two. Leading a full life, he is a decorated veteran of World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam.
After a long illness, he lies dying. His last thought is, "What a waste of such wonderful knowledge."
As he fades to black, the fun begins. He is to build a modern civilization without being burned as a witch!
The series continues with the Barony of Owen-nap being attacked from all sides.
A retired Lieutenant General, former head of the Army Corp of Engineers, lies dying at the age of ninety-two. Leading a full life, he is a decorated veteran of World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam.
After a long illness, he lies dying. His last thought is, "What a waste of such wonderful knowledge."
As he fades to black, the fun begins. He is to build a modern civilization without being burned as a witch!
The series continues with the Barony of Owen-nap being attacked from all sides.
232 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
August 8, 2023
Quite good, despite being oddly edited, still a good read.
August 3, 2023
In book two the Baron of Owen-Nap is still putting his engineering skills and memory to good use. Silver nitrate is the first invention but there are many more after that. I thought the story dragged a bit during all the engineering talk but then the story picks back up fairly quickly.
It wasn't as obvious in book one, but the Baron has big plans. Cornwall is only the beginning. There is a trip to London which was interesting, and of course more baronies that... Nope. I'm not going to spoil anything.
This is a solid second entry in the series. I enjoyed it a bit more than the first book mostly because of how the story develops. The editing is still atrocious and there is a repeat of most of a chapter in Chapter 19. We see much more of Eleanor, the Baron's wife, which was nice.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved Richard Jackson, but I think I like this series more. 5/5*
It wasn't as obvious in book one, but the Baron has big plans. Cornwall is only the beginning. There is a trip to London which was interesting, and of course more baronies that... Nope. I'm not going to spoil anything.
This is a solid second entry in the series. I enjoyed it a bit more than the first book mostly because of how the story develops. The editing is still atrocious and there is a repeat of most of a chapter in Chapter 19. We see much more of Eleanor, the Baron's wife, which was nice.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved Richard Jackson, but I think I like this series more. 5/5*
Read
August 1, 2023Good but needs further editing
Continues at the same pace as the first book with a good amount of content. The benefit is good progression in the technological advancement and seeing these results but leaving me feeling a little detached from the characters.
This book also needs further editing. Read on release day and there are many typos and in chapter 19 a whole section is repeated at the end of the chapter. Easily skipped but frustrating.
Still recommend the book and series which I am enjoying.
Continues at the same pace as the first book with a good amount of content. The benefit is good progression in the technological advancement and seeing these results but leaving me feeling a little detached from the characters.
This book also needs further editing. Read on release day and there are many typos and in chapter 19 a whole section is repeated at the end of the chapter. Easily skipped but frustrating.
Still recommend the book and series which I am enjoying.
August 1, 2023
while this is my current favorite genre there are some issues
I love reading this genre and this books is well done even though the editing is terrible. An entire section of the book repeats like it wasn’t removed in editing and several paragraphs require the Rosetta Stone to interpret them. Overall the book is fun although the side trips into chemistry are a bit much. I’ll read the next one because I can overlook the serious lack of effective proofreading in the previous two. Mr. Nelson is a promising author but he should invest in better editing and proofreading.
I love reading this genre and this books is well done even though the editing is terrible. An entire section of the book repeats like it wasn’t removed in editing and several paragraphs require the Rosetta Stone to interpret them. Overall the book is fun although the side trips into chemistry are a bit much. I’ll read the next one because I can overlook the serious lack of effective proofreading in the previous two. Mr. Nelson is a promising author but he should invest in better editing and proofreading.
December 15, 2023
DNF at 10 %. The story felt for me more and more like a fairy tale. Eleanor is decribed like a woman of the 20th or 21st century not the 7th!! Everything is way to easy and naive. The historical inacuracies got too much for me...
April 26, 2025
While the author took a couple of extended trips into engineering land, the story was fine. The protagonist is super competent and never makes a mistake, so take that as it lies. I could keep reading the series, but there's nothing compelling about it.
August 2, 2023
Good, but badly edited
Several errors in grammar and word spelling, plus a most of a chapter of the kidnapping of Lady Elenor repeated in chapter 18. Good read altogether though. I suspect part of the problem is a software problem, with damned auto spell heck. The repeated chapter could poss8bly be a error in auto save and new days writing added to last saved content. And not being caught in editing.
Several errors in grammar and word spelling, plus a most of a chapter of the kidnapping of Lady Elenor repeated in chapter 18. Good read altogether though. I suspect part of the problem is a software problem, with damned auto spell heck. The repeated chapter could poss8bly be a error in auto save and new days writing added to last saved content. And not being caught in editing.
August 2, 2023
rushed
A lot of mistakes. Way more than the previous book. Really rushed and took away from the story. Still good but only a quarter of a book. I still enjoyed it and will read the next.
A lot of mistakes. Way more than the previous book. Really rushed and took away from the story. Still good but only a quarter of a book. I still enjoyed it and will read the next.
August 3, 2023
Good storytelling but…
The editing was some of the worst I have seen. It was sometimes hard to figure out what was going on in some sections. However the story was very good. Damn dude, get an editor!
The editing was some of the worst I have seen. It was sometimes hard to figure out what was going on in some sections. However the story was very good. Damn dude, get an editor!
January 19, 2024
3.5 stars! I think Jim is changing things too quickly for the times!
August 3, 2023
Close 2nd
4.5 Stars
So this book continues in the tradition of the first following our MC. The book is fast paced, full of knowledge in all sorts of areas and that’s what makes it entertaining. Someone thrown back in time using today’s knowledge or some version of it to build a society. For the most part that is entertaining here. There are issues in this book that weren’t present in the first book. One of the biggest problems you have in the follow up to a great book is where do you go from here? This book stumbled a little bit and figuring out where to go exactly. They were times when you might look up and say did not just read something similar or haven’t I read something similar before. It was when you saw things that were new and exciting that made you go a while. Great idea. Visiting new areas for example, great idea. Rehashing plot points. Not so good. No that’s not truly a bad thing. It’s just a mistep. Do you know sort of like stubbing your toe. There was also a Pointe in the book where the author just continue to be very technical. Yes it can be entertaining to explain some of these new features, introducing to the world and how they came about and where they came from but there wasn’t one point relatively early on in the book where he just kept added a bit too much. Now this is difficult not to do in these types of books where someone is thrown back in time in an alternate history they have to dive into the technical aspect of things, but it’s a delicate balance that needs to be Struck. Wow 90% of the time that balance was kept pretty well here there was a brief moment when it went just a bit too long just a bit too far.
Now I have a personal gripe about the book that many people might not have. I would’ve preferred more original last names, but that can be seen as a fine point about the series something cute something to remember the series by. Overall, it’s a great series and I still recommend it to everyone. I gave the first book 5.0 this book took a bit of a hit not much 4.5 stars still wonderful to read and you should do so.
Message to the Author
I want you to know I enjoyed your book really enjoyed it. I even went looking for future iterations of the book and saw that it was once on Royal Road. I hope they could find later chapters. Sadly I couldn’t so I’ll have to wait for it to release on Amazon. This was a good book here personally that was just a few points where you leaned a little too hard into the technical part of things. Right around one of the times when you were discussing glass, you had just finished one technical explanation and went right into another. That was a bit too much. Now we also see this same process repeating again, and again, I won another Baronie a bit boring I did it again I did it again I did it again. Expect it yes but anti-climactic. I don’t know how you get around it. He either has to defeat someone or someone has to swear allegiance to him, but still once you read that several different times, do you like OK? I want to read something new. Now I am having to flee London that was really sad. Actually, I thought that might’ve been an opportunity to develop new story arcs. In fact, I really would like to see more story arc from different characters points of view. As I said before there were times when the MC just talked a bit too much and it was refreshing to not hear him be technical all the time. Instead let others come up with some of these ideas. That seems to be a concept. He wants to hammer Home. I have a good idea but what did you think of? One final note, please don’t be like other authors if you have a book ready to release do so we don’t like waiting when we have to wait that’s less of a chance will buy the next book in the series because we may have moved on to something else.
4.5 Stars
So this book continues in the tradition of the first following our MC. The book is fast paced, full of knowledge in all sorts of areas and that’s what makes it entertaining. Someone thrown back in time using today’s knowledge or some version of it to build a society. For the most part that is entertaining here. There are issues in this book that weren’t present in the first book. One of the biggest problems you have in the follow up to a great book is where do you go from here? This book stumbled a little bit and figuring out where to go exactly. They were times when you might look up and say did not just read something similar or haven’t I read something similar before. It was when you saw things that were new and exciting that made you go a while. Great idea. Visiting new areas for example, great idea. Rehashing plot points. Not so good. No that’s not truly a bad thing. It’s just a mistep. Do you know sort of like stubbing your toe. There was also a Pointe in the book where the author just continue to be very technical. Yes it can be entertaining to explain some of these new features, introducing to the world and how they came about and where they came from but there wasn’t one point relatively early on in the book where he just kept added a bit too much. Now this is difficult not to do in these types of books where someone is thrown back in time in an alternate history they have to dive into the technical aspect of things, but it’s a delicate balance that needs to be Struck. Wow 90% of the time that balance was kept pretty well here there was a brief moment when it went just a bit too long just a bit too far.
Now I have a personal gripe about the book that many people might not have. I would’ve preferred more original last names, but that can be seen as a fine point about the series something cute something to remember the series by. Overall, it’s a great series and I still recommend it to everyone. I gave the first book 5.0 this book took a bit of a hit not much 4.5 stars still wonderful to read and you should do so.
Message to the Author
I want you to know I enjoyed your book really enjoyed it. I even went looking for future iterations of the book and saw that it was once on Royal Road. I hope they could find later chapters. Sadly I couldn’t so I’ll have to wait for it to release on Amazon. This was a good book here personally that was just a few points where you leaned a little too hard into the technical part of things. Right around one of the times when you were discussing glass, you had just finished one technical explanation and went right into another. That was a bit too much. Now we also see this same process repeating again, and again, I won another Baronie a bit boring I did it again I did it again I did it again. Expect it yes but anti-climactic. I don’t know how you get around it. He either has to defeat someone or someone has to swear allegiance to him, but still once you read that several different times, do you like OK? I want to read something new. Now I am having to flee London that was really sad. Actually, I thought that might’ve been an opportunity to develop new story arcs. In fact, I really would like to see more story arc from different characters points of view. As I said before there were times when the MC just talked a bit too much and it was refreshing to not hear him be technical all the time. Instead let others come up with some of these ideas. That seems to be a concept. He wants to hammer Home. I have a good idea but what did you think of? One final note, please don’t be like other authors if you have a book ready to release do so we don’t like waiting when we have to wait that’s less of a chance will buy the next book in the series because we may have moved on to something else.
December 11, 2023
Good tale almost derailed by many formatting mistakes
Alternate universe, time travel, world building
Baron James has several challenges to face, and as his lands expand, his people struggle to keep up. Engaging.
I thought the formatting issues in the first book were bad, but I didn't expect them to be so bad! One obvious mistake was repeating 8 pages of story. Several times new chapters were not on new pages, new sentences were lower case instead starting with capital letters, more font size switches, and those pesky hyperlinks to Wikipedia articles. The links should have been skipped, or gathered in end notes. Just because you can embed hyperlinks doesn't mean you should. Again, it's like the author knows somewhat how to write but has no clue about word processor software -- at least the one he's using, and none of his readers and editors do either. Because the formatting issues actually got worse, that earned a ding on the ratings, as it means the author rushed the book into print, didn't care about the errors, or both, and any of those choices are bad.
Still has my interest, but disappointed about the lower quality control in this book. Still intriguing, but let's not push it.
Alternate universe, time travel, world building
Baron James has several challenges to face, and as his lands expand, his people struggle to keep up. Engaging.
I thought the formatting issues in the first book were bad, but I didn't expect them to be so bad! One obvious mistake was repeating 8 pages of story. Several times new chapters were not on new pages, new sentences were lower case instead starting with capital letters, more font size switches, and those pesky hyperlinks to Wikipedia articles. The links should have been skipped, or gathered in end notes. Just because you can embed hyperlinks doesn't mean you should. Again, it's like the author knows somewhat how to write but has no clue about word processor software -- at least the one he's using, and none of his readers and editors do either. Because the formatting issues actually got worse, that earned a ding on the ratings, as it means the author rushed the book into print, didn't care about the errors, or both, and any of those choices are bad.
Still has my interest, but disappointed about the lower quality control in this book. Still intriguing, but let's not push it.
January 18, 2024
Please note this is the second book of a series – the characters, etc. won’t make much sense to you if you haven’t read book one of the series. The author picks right up where he left off in book one. The plotting is really fast – sometimes too fast and the situations make you want to yell “bull” on them – and the book could really use an editor; it was also annoying in the Kindle version as the fonts would change from an obvious copy and paste as well as certain scenes being repeated word-for-word as if they were missed in the editing phase. The writing style is more like a diary vs. a novel with lots of telling us how things were done vs. interaction with characters. I picked this up for free with my Kindle Unlimited subscription vs. the regular price of $5.99 – if I had paid $5.99 for this I would be fairly disappointed because of all of the errors mentioned in my review.
February 6, 2025
Good, but could be better.
I’m really enjoying the storyline. Specifically, the problems that occur in the story in how it’s handled by the main character. In the first book, there wasn’t so much as a word of dialogue from other characters unless the main character was present. This made the first book seem very one dimensional. This time, and book 2, Mr. Nelson has given us some insight to what other characters are thinking when the main character is not around. You know, cutting into a scene at a different location before returning back to the main storyline. As a little bit more dimension. But overall, this has been a good read, and I’m looking forward to reading book 3.
I’m really enjoying the storyline. Specifically, the problems that occur in the story in how it’s handled by the main character. In the first book, there wasn’t so much as a word of dialogue from other characters unless the main character was present. This made the first book seem very one dimensional. This time, and book 2, Mr. Nelson has given us some insight to what other characters are thinking when the main character is not around. You know, cutting into a scene at a different location before returning back to the main storyline. As a little bit more dimension. But overall, this has been a good read, and I’m looking forward to reading book 3.
April 20, 2026
The story continues. James (! I finally remembered) goes on to proceed with modernization. He does some wonderful wonderful things, also suspend your disbelief, this is a make-believe world where the rules of realism DO NOT MATTER.
Hot Babes around. Keeps and "castles" conquered. The Barony of the Middle Counties grows. London gets ruined by his financial mischief. Oh and he finally becomes Count of Cornwall at the end.
To be honest, it is a refreshing read, just take your mind to pasture, short and pleasant. I kinda wish he'd push for railroads though, he has coal, he has high grade steel,... just do it?
Hot Babes around. Keeps and "castles" conquered. The Barony of the Middle Counties grows. London gets ruined by his financial mischief. Oh and he finally becomes Count of Cornwall at the end.
To be honest, it is a refreshing read, just take your mind to pasture, short and pleasant. I kinda wish he'd push for railroads though, he has coal, he has high grade steel,... just do it?
August 2, 2023
Really excellent!!
Loved the mc and main characters and the plot line! Especoally and particularly vastly appreciated the details on creating the foundations of measurement and chemistry to create manufacturing. Also the methods to pump air and water and increase flow of air and water and compression of air. And logistics and cleanliness and road building and clean water and sewers and education/literacy. All essentials! Thank you!!! I wish I had eidetic memory to memorize THIS book!
Very well done!
And -please please please faster with the next ones!
Loved the mc and main characters and the plot line! Especoally and particularly vastly appreciated the details on creating the foundations of measurement and chemistry to create manufacturing. Also the methods to pump air and water and increase flow of air and water and compression of air. And logistics and cleanliness and road building and clean water and sewers and education/literacy. All essentials! Thank you!!! I wish I had eidetic memory to memorize THIS book!
Very well done!
And -please please please faster with the next ones!
August 25, 2023
Where to begin.... I loathe main characters who are great at everything....and this main character is worse than most because he's boring. Dropping and old man's mind into a youthful body has created a character that is uninteresting because nobody in their right mind would find him relatable.
Throw in the eidetic memory and a basic complete knowledge of everything and you have god-like hero who is just annoying to read about. There is NO STRUGGLE in this book because the MC is practically omnipotent.
Throw in the eidetic memory and a basic complete knowledge of everything and you have god-like hero who is just annoying to read about. There is NO STRUGGLE in this book because the MC is practically omnipotent.
January 1, 2024
Muy buena continuacion del primer libro.
Muy entretenido. Le di cinco estrellas porque me gustó mucho el libro
. Lo leí tan rapido que un vez lo terminé tuve que volverlo a leer con mas calma.
La narracion es a veces dificil de seguir. Al autor parece que no le gusta escribir en párrafos y hay paginas completas con oraciones independientes.
A veces la historia salta varios meses de una oracion a otra. Supuestamente varias personas leen y editan el libro, sin embargo encuentro con frecuencia palabras usadas erroneamente y oraciones que no hacen sentido.
Muy entretenido. Le di cinco estrellas porque me gustó mucho el libro
. Lo leí tan rapido que un vez lo terminé tuve que volverlo a leer con mas calma.
La narracion es a veces dificil de seguir. Al autor parece que no le gusta escribir en párrafos y hay paginas completas con oraciones independientes.
A veces la historia salta varios meses de una oracion a otra. Supuestamente varias personas leen y editan el libro, sin embargo encuentro con frecuencia palabras usadas erroneamente y oraciones que no hacen sentido.
September 2, 2023
The majority of the first half of the book seemed to be about developing technology and chemistry and even though I was a Science Teacher for half my working life, I found it too much.
There were also some formatting errors in this book e.g. a big chunk of chapter Eighteen seemed to be a repeat of the previous chapter.
The second half was much more interesting and ‘saved’ the book. If possible I would have given 3.5 stars.
There were also some formatting errors in this book e.g. a big chunk of chapter Eighteen seemed to be a repeat of the previous chapter.
The second half was much more interesting and ‘saved’ the book. If possible I would have given 3.5 stars.
August 2, 2023
Enjoyable Read
James, upon his death, is reborn centuries earlier into the body of a baron. He has consolidated enemy Baronies into districts of his own Barony. Continued improvement in the lives of his people, further expansion of his territory, and danger ensue. I like the modernization introduced, humor, military maneuvers, and romance. I look forward to another book.
James, upon his death, is reborn centuries earlier into the body of a baron. He has consolidated enemy Baronies into districts of his own Barony. Continued improvement in the lives of his people, further expansion of his territory, and danger ensue. I like the modernization introduced, humor, military maneuvers, and romance. I look forward to another book.
August 6, 2023
Great story but lousy proofreading
Story just as good as the first one. But the repletion of multiple blocks of text, one very large, is disconcerting. And of course it happens at probably the most dramatic point of the book. So they lost a couple of stars from my rating over it.
Story just as good as the first one. But the repletion of multiple blocks of text, one very large, is disconcerting. And of course it happens at probably the most dramatic point of the book. So they lost a couple of stars from my rating over it.
August 16, 2023
Fun read
Being an old veteran myself I really enjoyed these books. I would recommend them to anyone who likes the genre of alternate timelines. One of the things I think the author really did a good job with was the distinction of ignorant and stupidity. You can train the ignorant but the the stupid many times is a terminal condition. ;)
Being an old veteran myself I really enjoyed these books. I would recommend them to anyone who likes the genre of alternate timelines. One of the things I think the author really did a good job with was the distinction of ignorant and stupidity. You can train the ignorant but the the stupid many times is a terminal condition. ;)
October 19, 2023
Good, repetitive from book one
Book two in an entertaining and educational series. Once again the premise of alternative earths/reincarnation are front and center in 8th century Cornwall. The story, unfortunately, is extremely similar to book one, new inventions, new battles, rinse and repeat.
Book two in an entertaining and educational series. Once again the premise of alternative earths/reincarnation are front and center in 8th century Cornwall. The story, unfortunately, is extremely similar to book one, new inventions, new battles, rinse and repeat.
December 18, 2023
Not a lot of story with this series. So much of the book is made up of filler for technical manuals! I suppose if I am ever lost to the past I can use his books for technical advancement. As long as I have my Kindle with me. The book has so much wasted potential. Everything goes smoothly with the main character always coming out on top. The one true redeeming quality is that the author treats women and men equally when you do manage to get to the actual story itself. What a waste.
January 24, 2024
Really really sciency
A fantasy series with no magic was an interesting concept, but it just doesn't work for me. I'm a quarter of the way through this second book and I'm just bored. There's a lot of science which is cool but not exactly what I'm looking for in entertainment. If you're a big science fan and know a lot about the hard sciences, this might be right up your alley.
A fantasy series with no magic was an interesting concept, but it just doesn't work for me. I'm a quarter of the way through this second book and I'm just bored. There's a lot of science which is cool but not exactly what I'm looking for in entertainment. If you're a big science fan and know a lot about the hard sciences, this might be right up your alley.
January 29, 2024
3.5 stars.
I liked it... I definitely liked it... but 4 stars is "really liked it". It was a fun read. Again the main character seems to just sail through the challenges sorting them out with the advantage of his photographic memory and knowledge of 21st century technology.
Still I enjoyed it and will be buying next
I liked it... I definitely liked it... but 4 stars is "really liked it". It was a fun read. Again the main character seems to just sail through the challenges sorting them out with the advantage of his photographic memory and knowledge of 21st century technology.
Still I enjoyed it and will be buying next
May 30, 2024
A fun time traveler turned lord read
This has been done many times with Mark Twain's being the best in my opinion.
I liked the ease of reading with a coherent progression, character introduction, and interesting turns. It gets into almost geographical detail with descriptions of things.
It's main flaw is it's reading level -- teenagers.
This has been done many times with Mark Twain's being the best in my opinion.
I liked the ease of reading with a coherent progression, character introduction, and interesting turns. It gets into almost geographical detail with descriptions of things.
It's main flaw is it's reading level -- teenagers.
October 30, 2025
Plagiarism: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Mark Twain
I actually enjoyed this despite occasional AI writing glitches. I wish authors who use AI would hire actual human proofreaders and editors, assuming that there are any left who know proper English spelling and grammar.
I actually enjoyed this despite occasional AI writing glitches. I wish authors who use AI would hire actual human proofreaders and editors, assuming that there are any left who know proper English spelling and grammar.
August 1, 2023
Great story!!!
Love it! Great series, can't wait for the next one! Only 2 points: Ch 18 duplicated text of the wife's ordeal, and "arrmsmen" misspelled later around 88%? through the book. Love the series!!
Love it! Great series, can't wait for the next one! Only 2 points: Ch 18 duplicated text of the wife's ordeal, and "arrmsmen" misspelled later around 88%? through the book. Love the series!!
August 1, 2023
Good story. really well thought out in terms of science and engineering. Character development could have more depth. One editorial issue as about 12 pages were duplicated just after half way through. Eagerly waiting the next installment.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews