Jon Owens
Jon Owens works in the Electricity Industry, and as a possible reaction to its tedious nature has been reading and writing extensively since University. Jon's favourite genre is Historical Fiction, as even after four years of reading Military History at Aberystwyth University learning about new periods has never lost its allure. And what better way than through the medium of well researched fiction? As such Jon's bookshelves are littered with novels that cover over 2000 years of history, as well as a smattering of Sci-Fi and Fantasy.
The Family Corleone, by Edward Falco
Reviewed on July 29, 2012
The Godfather is without question the epitome of mafia fiction. The film has buried itself so deeply in the collective consciousness of the masses that “an offer you can’t refuse” has become almost a caricature of mob violence. Along with the horse’s head in the bed – apparently an entirely logical reaction to a refused [...]
Prophecy: Death of an Empire, by M K Hume
Reviewed on May 22, 2012
The second book in the Merlin series picks up where Clash of Kings left off. We follow the journey of our young hero to the shores of Constantinople on his quest to further learn the art of healing, as well as the very personal desire to identify and meet his own father. Hume once again [...]
Vespasian: Rome’s Executioner, by Robert Fabbri
Reviewed on May 19, 2012
Well, twelve months after I committed my thoughts on Fabbri’s debut novel to page the sequel arrived on my doorstep. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first novel I started upon the second with great anticipation. Which if anything is the prologue to a review of negatives. Fortunately Rome’s Executioner manages to achieve all that I would [...]
Milligan’s Meaning of Life, by Spike Milligan
Reviewed on March 2, 2012
Spike Milligan is an undisputed genius, of sorts. And as noted by his agent in the introduction to this eclectic collection it is an auto-biography of sorts. Milligan’s Meaning of Life is a compilation of Spike’s published works from a vast span of his career. The reader is treated to extracts from his war memoirs, [...]
Conqueror by Conn Iggulden
Reviewed on December 28, 2011
Conqueror is the final instalment in Iggulden’s series based on the line of Genghis Khan. Having followed the lives of Genghis, his sons and now his grandsons, the concluding chapter of this story centres on the life of Kublai. This once again has the same mixed blessings as the original trilogy did – that many [...]
Jupiter’s Travels by Ted Simon & Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman
Reviewed on November 18, 2011
Travel writing is something that seems to appeal to the kind of people who enjoy clinging to a motorbike and setting themselves unnecessarily complicated challenges. Probably the most widely read of this canon is Long Way Round, this recognition due to the television series that accompanied it and the fame of the riders themselves. A [...]
The Killing Way, by Anthony Hays
Reviewed on October 24, 2011
The Killing Way is an interesting prospect from the outset – a murder mystery based in Arthurian times. I confess that I approached it with trepidation in quite how this could be executed, with the period being one that has been portrayed in numerous historical fiction pieces in the past. The romantic version of Arthur’s [...]
Silk Road, by Colin Falconer
Reviewed on September 30, 2011
Silk Road immediately drew in this reviewer due to the period and plot line it presented: the Crusading Templar knight, and the Dominican Friar that accompanies him, moving through the empire of the Mongols in search of a treaty against the Saracens. Having read fiction and factual works around both the crusades and the Mongolian [...]
The Day Aberystwyth Stood Still, by Malcolm Pryce
Reviewed on July 20, 2011
The Day Aberystwyth Stood Still is the latest addition to Malcolm Pryce’s highly acclaimed Louie Knight series. Set in a convincingly surreal version of the mid-Walean seaside town, each of these novels have combined classic noir with a wholly entertaining alternative universe. Previously the main protagonist has had to deal with Druids, a school games [...]
The Emperor’s Gold, by Robert Wilton
Reviewed on July 11, 2011
The Emperor’s Gold left this reviewer in something of a quandary. It is an elaborately plotted and soundly written novel set in a fascinating period of history – early 19th Century France. It draws on a previously unknown Government department the “Comptrollerate-General for Scrutiny and Survey” as a predecessor to our intelligence services, and as [...]
Fortress of Spears (Empire) by Anthony Riches
Reviewed on July 8, 2011
Unlike Riches’ previous work, Arrows of Fury, this reviewer managed to pick up the third addition to the Empire series early in the game. It was with eager anticipation that this novel was entered into, and as such raises one of the problematic aspects of reviewing any extended series – the characters, setting and context [...]
Normandiefront, by Vince Milano & Bruce Conner
Reviewed on June 10, 2011
The D-Day offensive and the fighting that followed has always been a fascinating aspect of World War Two for the military historian. The books, films and TV series around the subject of Operation Overlord and the following weeks and months are almost countless. However there is still so much to learn from the allied invasion, [...]
Vespasian: Tribune of Rome, by Robert Fabbri
Reviewed on May 21, 2011
Tribune of Rome is Fabbri’s first novel after a career in film and television in a variety of assistant directing roles. He has worked on historical and contemporary series’ across a twenty-five year span. As such it was with interest that this reviewer approached this début novel, given the arguable glut on the market of [...]
The Easter Rising, by Michael T. Foy and Brian Barton
Reviewed on May 14, 2011
The Easter Rising in 1916 remains one of the most important events of modern Irish history, and with its centenary rapidly approaching it is doubtless a period that will be revisited by scholars and the public of the Emerald Isle alike. This reviewer already has the benefit of an active interest in this period in [...]
Prophecy: Clash of Kings by MK Hume
Reviewed on April 2, 2011
It will come as no surprise to anyone who has read the reviews of Hume’s previous works here on Bookgeeks that this reviewer was eagerly awaited the first in her second trilogy. Clash of Kings is the first of three prequels to the King Arthur series, tracking the life of a young Merlin in the [...]
Conquest, by Stewart Binns
Reviewed on March 26, 2011
At first glance Conquest has the potential to be a fascinating piece of historical fiction. Hereward of Bourne, the main protagonist, is a genuine historical figure whose impact on English history has been sadly overlooked, a figure that fought against the Norman invaders even after the death of the King, a symbol of resolve that [...]
Arrows of Fury (Empire), by Anthony Riches
Reviewed on February 11, 2011
It is with something akin to annoyance that the reviewer discovered this volume, having somehow missed the release of this eagerly awaited second book in the series when it arrived in hardback on the shelves last year. Fortunately this annoyance is quickly overcome when once again immersed in the politics and violence of Roman Britain. [...]
Empire of Silver (Conqueror 4) by Conn Iggulden
Reviewed on December 22, 2010
The fourth book in the Conqueror series was always going to be an interesting proposition, given Genghis himself died in the closing chapter of the previous book. Iggulden was also not in the position to leap immediately to the next point in history that people are more aware of, as Kublai was the Great Khan’s [...]
The Price of Glory, by Seth Hunter
Reviewed on October 29, 2010
The third addition to the Nathan Peake series has the advantage over its predecessor The Tide of War, insomuch as the reviewer has at least this time already read part of the series previously. While in the preceding title it was evident that the novel stood well alone, in this case I am glad for [...]
King Arthur: The Bloody Cup, by M. K. Hume
Reviewed on July 28, 2010
The final book in this debut series was eagerly awaited by this reviewer, intrigued as to how the author would deal with the later stages of Artor’s life. The fact the novel is “The Bloody Cup” is also intriguing, given the obvious link to the Holy Grail and all the connotations thus attached. This aspect [...]
Bloody Belfast: An Oral History of the British Army’s War Against the IRA, by Ken Wharton
Reviewed on July 11, 2010
This book has the immediate opportunity to be utterly fascinating to anyone who is interested in Northern Ireland’s “Troubles”. Ken Wharton, as an ex-soldier himself, has painstakingly brought together an impressive array of first hand accounts from soldiers who served during the bloody thirty years of war in the province. The perspective of the men [...]
The Tide of War, by Seth Hunter
Reviewed on June 18, 2010
Occasionally you come across a series of books that stand alone, not needing their fellows to reinforce the mystique of their imagined characters and plot. The Tide of War by Seth Hunter achieves this, and I can say this with confidence as I have never read the first of the trilogy, The Time of Terror. [...]
King Arthur: Dragon’s Child & King Arthur: Warrior of the West, by M. K. Hume
Reviewed on June 12, 2010
Arthurian novels are almost as common as the various myths and legends that inspire them. It is an area of “historical” fiction that has been covered in a variety of ways by a variety of authors, as well as cinematic interpretations that portray the ubiquitous Arthur as a Celt, a Roman or a coconut-carrying Englishman. [...]
Frontline Afghanistan: The Devil’s Playground, by Mark Ryan
Reviewed on April 29, 2010
Given the contentious nature of writing a book about a war that is still being fought, it is brave indeed to throw yourself twice into this particular arena. Mike Ryan has done exactly that, evidently confident in his background on the subject – Ryan is the author of seventeen books prior to this one, including [...]
Soldiers of the Queen, by Stephen Manning
Reviewed on December 16, 2009
Soldiers of the Queen is something of an ambitious concept from the outset. Not only does Manning promise to cover every major conflict embarked upon by the British Army during the reign of Queen Victoria, but in order to do so he draws upon an exceedingly impressive catalogue of first-hand accounts. Using this kind of [...]
Wounds of Honour (Empire), by Anthony Riches
Reviewed on September 8, 2009
It is always with a sense of trepidation that one approaches a new author in the field of historical fiction. When it is a genre awash with heavy-hitters like Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden and Wilbur Smith there is always a sense of what is almost sympathy with the newcomer. As a reader you are hoping [...]
The Tenth Case, by Joseph Teller
Reviewed on July 10, 2009
There are few concepts that are more traditional in the literary world than the good old fashioned “who dun it?”. Indeed murder mysteries themselves cross genres from historical “it was the soldier in the castle with the pike” through to the sci-fi “it was the blue alien with the laser in the bio-contamination pod”. Similarly [...]
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The Bookgeeks Interview
Mark Oldfield
Mark Oldfield has worked in criminological research for over 20 years. He has a PhD in Criminology from the University of Kent and has carried out research in the areas of risk assessment and prediction and as well as evaluative research on policing, prisons and probation. He has also taught in various Universities on research, crime and criminal justice.
