2023-08-24 14:48
In writing the next of my Viking novels, I’ve had cause to spend time exploring the delights of Swaledale in the North Yorkshire Moors. Not that the area is unknown to me anyway, as I… Read More
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Reviews, news and inside the world of books.
2023-03-08 21:26
“This, dear lady, is what my father would have referred to as an ‘uncomfortable situation’.”
“The chair is not giving enough for your ignoble behind?”… Read More
2022-05-21 20:32
Due to the oppressive and labyrinthine complexity of WordPress, I have moved my blog. For future updates, keep an eye on https://simonturney.blogspot.com/ Read More
2022-02-10 23:17
I am primarily an author and reader of Roman fiction. I occasionally stray from that, but I have always claimed a general lack of interest in Dark Age England. Indeed, when Canelo persuaded… Read More
2022-01-08 20:14
The challenge: For the Turney family, kids and dog included, to walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall in small stages over the course of 2022. It will be done in such bite-sized chunks for… Read More
2021-11-10 22:44
I have been suffering a reading ennui for a few years, and have restricted what reading time I have to my main subject and era: Imperial Rome. It was a simple time thing. I had no time to re… Read More
2021-10-27 07:01
Once in a blue moon, you come across a book, or series of books, that’s a game-changer. At the height of my reading, a few years ago, I was reading a novel a week. As time wore on, my… Read More
2021-10-11 08:00
To celebrate the release of Hauntings, the collection of historical ghost stories released this month, today I’m hosting one of the other authors in that selection, the talented Judith… Read More
2021-08-19 13:45
Actually, Yorkshire is historically a very Viking area. York (the Roman Eboracum and the Saxon Eoforwic) was the Viking town of Jorvik, and still hosts an annual Viking festival, is home to… Read More
2021-04-09 08:07
(or Why I choose to write about the ‘damned’ emperors.)
Alright, you’re going to argue with me from square one, but in my opinion, if we can call Augustus an emperor, wh… Read More
2021-03-04 07:00
The Rise of Emperors series charts the childhood, the rise, the rift, the struggle and the war between the later Roman emperors Constantine and Maxentius at the end of the 3rd/beginning of t… Read More
2021-01-13 10:21
A short but very visual post for you here. There follow a series of photos that have never been seen before of a site that will never be seen again. In 1959/1959 the A1 (Great North Road) wa… Read More
2021-01-09 10:58
(A RETURN TO LOCKDOWN STORIES BEGAN THIS WEEK, AND WE’RE BACK WITH TWO CHARACTERS FROM VENGEANCE, WITH NEW EPISODES EVERY WEEKDAY AND THIS COMPILATION EVERY WEEKEND. ENJOY.)
Valens… Read More
2020-12-31 10:00
My next Praetorian book will be released in early/mid 2021, and among the interesting places Rufinus will be finding himself wandering in book VI is the Holy City, the hub of the three Abrah… Read More
2020-12-10 12:55
It is an inescapable fact that history is written by the victors, and this is rarely as clear as it is in the case of the conflict between Maxentius and Constantine at the turn of the 4th ce… Read More
2020-11-30 08:00
Today, we have a guest post from Paul Bennett, author of the Mallory Saga, with a short piece on himself, his inspiration for the books and the three novels so far. Enjoy, people…… Read More
2020-10-28 09:56
I guess it’s slowly becoming my speciality. It all started with Marius’ Mules, written back in 2003, in which I portrayed (and continue to do so throughout the series) the great… Read More
2020-10-16 08:00
Most of us know a few of the Roman emperors. Many of us can recall important facts about the better known ones. What occurred to me as a fascinating question was whether it was possible to s… Read More
2020-10-14 08:00
Yes, I’m talking about what one Roman in particular did for us. As you may know if you’ve been following my social media recently, I have a new book coming out imminently (14th O… Read More
2020-10-13 08:00
A fabulous treat for you today, as two great authors delve into the world of Anglo-Saxon England with their latest works, and the wonderful Annie Whitehead has agreed to guest post here as p… Read More
2020-10-12 08:19
parmenionbooks
Sons of Rome (2020)(The first book in the Rise of Emperors series)A novel by Gordon Doherty and Simon Turney
Four Emperors. Two Friends… Read More
2020-07-08 06:57
Today, I have something of a treat for you. The lovely, knowledgeable and entertaining Sharon Bennett Connolly has just released a new book covering the impressive women with an involvement… Read More
2020-06-20 08:20
The time passed with strained and strangulated slowness, each of them fretting and fidgeting in their own way. Elia sat with her burbling child by the trapdoor to the secure strongroom bel… Read More
2020-06-12 08:16
Valens braced himself as the Carvetii ran at him, wishing he had a shield. Instead, he swung the optio’s staff in his left hand. The man at the head of the growing crowd dropping from… Read More
2020-06-05 09:00
Valens staggered back into the principia courtyard, staring at Secundus. Damn it all, but now that he’d pulled back from the fight and had a think, he could see that the other optio w… Read More
2020-05-29 07:48
An hour had passed since Valens had returned. An hour of planning, of assigning and continually reassigning people to tasks, of answering endless questions, of confirming things and of chec… Read More
2020-05-22 06:05
Valens grabbed a second brand and, without waiting for the others to get to work, urged Rigonorix out of the door. Outside, he pointed left. ‘Quick as you can, just the easy burns and… Read More
2020-05-15 06:53
Valens woke with a start, his hand going straight to the hilt of the sword that lay beside him. As reality crashed in on his groggy world, despite everything he felt a selfish and idiotic d… Read More
2020-05-08 06:59
Valens watched with a flood of silent relief as the tide of angry humanity ebbed and receded from the walls. Carefully skirting the inferno, the Carvetii vanished along narrow alleys and in… Read More
2020-05-01 08:14
‘Here they come,’ Valens shouted to the defender salong the wall before turning back to those close by on the gate top. ‘I’m not sure whether you’re an idiot o… Read More
2020-04-24 05:31
Valens half expected to hear the emergency bleating of a horn or tolling of a bell at any moment as the men went about their assigned tasks. That the enemy were gathered in the vicus, out o… Read More
2020-04-17 06:37
If you’re up to date with my free serialized story to keep your isolation spirits up, here’s week four in its entirety:
𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐀… Read More
2020-04-10 08:58
Here you go, folks. Keep your minds busy during lockdown and isolation with my free Roman tale, Vengeance. Here’s Chapter 3, and don’t forget you can go back and read chapters 1… Read More
2020-04-06 06:44
Continuing my free story, Vengeance, which is posted every weekday on my Facebook page during this time of Covid-`19 isolation, here is the omnibus of last week’s episodes, and check o… Read More
2020-03-27 07:55
Good morning from Casa Turney on this fine isolated locked-down day. As you may (or may not) know, during this troubled time, a bunch of authors (see the above banner and Twitter #AuthorsWi… Read More
2020-03-17 09:51
Hello world.
While my life generally involves locking myself away in my home office and forgetting the outside world exists anyway, suddenly a large sector of society is suffering isolation… Read More
2020-02-21 19:30
I’m going to guess that anyone who knows my work or reads this blog is pretty conversant with military history, and therefore probably knows of Osprey Publishing’s renown in tha… Read More
2019-10-21 11:42
And I’m back with another 4 ancient Rome texts I’ve been using to research Gnaeus Julius Agricola. My first example is
With my Agricola research, I’ve looked at the effect… Read More
2019-09-03 12:09
You may or may not know that I am currently departing from the world of fiction briefly to pen a non-fiction work on the life and career of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, ‘The man who conquer… Read More
2019-07-04 10:55
So the big book news, I think, is that the 12th installment of the Marius’ Mules series – Sands of Egypt – is released today…
Winter, 48 BC. Caesar and his small fo… Read More
2019-06-07 07:46
Grab your wallet/purse and make space on your bookshelves. Here are some recent and upcoming books you won’t want to miss:
Well, I have to start with my own, don’t I. Commodus i… Read More
2019-04-23 08:00
So I started reading this book:
And I started reading it, sadly, just a few short months after I finished writing my novel set in 1204, including odd events mentioned in this text. But that… Read More
2019-02-26 19:36
To be honest, this review isn’t going to be long and in-depth. It doesn’t need to be. I’ll start by saying ‘Buy this book. Don’t ****ing argue, just do it.&rsq&helli…Read More
2019-02-18 21:49
Ever wanted to hear why I write what I write? How it came about? My inspiration for certain things? Ever want to ask questions or just chat or perhaps buy books or get them signed? Well the… Read More
2019-02-07 22:41
Fancy a fascinating dip into some non-fiction history? Here’s a subject you might not have sought out, but one that might capture your fascination. I read the title and the descriptio… Read More
2018-12-28 21:40
One of my more out-there hobbies is gravestones. I really do rather like wandering churchyards and looking at the stones. Some can be really informative, some can be humorous, some can be po… Read More
2018-12-24 22:41
Every now and then you discover a book that has somehow completely passed you by. I generally like to think I’m aware of the better releases in the Roman genre. I write in it, so I ke… Read More
2018-12-15 21:29
While there’s really no way I could claim to have read this for research, read it I did, and entirely for fun. I have written about pirates many times: the fictional Ghassan and Samir… Read More
2018-11-30 10:53
Do you want to win a collection of Roman goodies?
Do you?
Well here’s your chance. One lucky winner can get their hands on this amazing prize:
And all you have to do to win this prize… Read More
2018-11-15 21:13
Mad, bad and dangerous to know. Well, actually, that was Lady Caroline Lamb describing Lord Byron. But it got your attention…
So I don’t often blather about my own books on thi… Read More
2018-11-12 10:33
Almost a year ago, I read and reviewed one of the most innovative and refreshing historical texts I have ever come across, that being Heroines of the Medieval World by Sharon Bennett Connol… Read More
2018-10-15 05:57
Caius Attius Flaccus stood in the atrium of his villa and shuddered. Something ran up his spine like ice on bare flesh, making him quail and quiver on the spot.
He snarled at his own failin… Read More
2018-10-07 18:50
Something I discussed last night with a friend led me to posting this today. This is my list of the top 10 places I would give a kidney to visit, but will almost certainly never do so. How m… Read More
2018-09-15 07:59
Ever heard of the Palladium? No, not the theatre, nor the metal. The ancient Palladium, I mean. Well oddly it’s cropped up twice recently for me, after never previously knowing anythin… Read More
2018-08-23 22:58
As a Roman fiction author who detoured into the world of fantasy myself, and a long-term reader and lover of both Historical fiction and Fantasy, I am always on the lookout for those author… Read More
2018-08-08 07:21
I find it easy, when reviewing Manda Scott’s books, to run out of superlatives. I have never yet been disappointed in any of her body of work and if you are a fan of historical fictio… Read More
2018-07-20 14:18
Anyone who’s read my reviews over the years will know how much of a fan I am of Prue Batten’s work. She and I have known one another for a long time now, having come up together… Read More
2018-06-15 10:47
Sometimes books just appear at serendipitous times. Last month this book was released, penned by one of the top scholars in his field, a man whose work I trust implicitly. I happened to hav… Read More
2018-06-05 21:01
A year or two back I reviewed Michael Ridpath’s Traitor’s Gate, and it was in my top books of the year. I was somewhat excited to discover a sequel was out. I have little… Read More
2018-04-04 18:08
Two years ago I had the delight of reading America’s First Daughter by Stephanuie Dray and Laura Kamoie. It was one of my top reads of the year, despite being on a subject about which… Read More
2018-03-21 22:23
Joan of Arc is one of those fascinating iconic figures that we are all drawn to: an underdog who stands her ground and defies the establishment. I have had a minor fascination with her sinc… Read More
2018-02-17 08:27
I do like to intersperse, in the rare leisure time I get, my fiction reading with a little non-fiction (quite apart from all the Roman non-fiction research I do.) This book was an interesti… Read More
2018-02-07 08:36
Rarely does a book all-but leap off the shelf, batter me round the head and say ‘read me’, but the Last Hour was one such rarity. At first glance all I knew was that it was a th… Read More
2017-11-21 22:06
Having been involved myself in a number of multi-author collections, I am always fascinated to see how such things are handled by other writers. Winter’s Edge is a collection of 7 his… Read More
2017-11-11 07:40
In the interest of transparency, I’ve been a friend of the author of this book on Facebook for years, our joint interest in history being the connection. That being said, our direct h… Read More
2017-11-01 21:33
Early this year I had the opportunity to read and review Anthony Riches’ first Centurions book, Betrayal. I have now finished the second volume in this trilogy. It should be something… Read More
2017-09-21 21:15
I am an on-off reader of fantasy, partially due to the lack of time I have for reading, which means I really have to focus my decisions to the currently relevant. My fantasy reading has rec… Read More
2017-08-12 19:32
I’ve been something of a devotee of Luke McCallin’s Reinhardt books since the first one. There was something about the adventures of a distinctly non-Nazi Wehrmacht officer inve… Read More
2017-06-03 00:03
The Warrior of Rome series is a set of novels of the later Roman Empire (mid 3rd century AD) revolving around a man who is as much barbarian as he is Roman. Marcus Clodius Ballista is a memb… Read More
2017-05-29 11:22
I do like to periodically step outside my comfort zone with books. And little is more outside my comfort zone than this. World War I, of which I know little – in particular WWI Espion… Read More
2017-05-24 16:59
Interviewer: We’re joined today by two stalwarts of Rome. From the first century BC and the days of the glorious Republic, Marcus Falerius Fronto, Legate of the Ninth, Tenth and… Read More
2017-05-24 08:30
Whether you’re a reenactor or a historian or a writer or reader of Roman history, you will have come across this weapon. Along with the gladius, it is the staple of the Roman soldier… Read More
2017-03-13 12:18
I am a devotee of novels set in the ancient world and much of my reading centres around that period, though over the past few years I have strayed more and more outside my comfort zone. I h… Read More
2017-02-23 18:52
I’m sure if you’re reading my blog you’ll already be familiar with Riches’ work, in the form of his late 2nd century ‘Empire’ series. It came as som… Read More
2017-01-30 23:25
Some time ago I read the first of James Douglas’s “Jamie Saintclair” thrillers, and I’ve been awaiting thne opportunity to get to the second. Well, now I’ve fi… Read More
2017-01-15 13:38
It took me far too long to find time to catch up with one of the very best historical series in the current world of books. I’ve missed Valerius Verrens. Due to the time I left betwee… Read More
2016-12-26 17:49
It’s been a year or two since I last journeyed with Tullus and his companions in Eagles At War. And in some way, I feel that has improved my approach to the book rather than having la… Read More
2016-12-15 09:30
Three years ago I reviewed the second book in Gordon’s Strategos trilogy, which I loved as much as the first. It goes to show how busy I am and how many books there are in my reading… Read More
2016-12-01 10:14
I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of Matthew’s new Bernicia Chronicles novel a few weeks back, which pleased me immensely, as his work had been on my radar for some time a… Read More
2016-12-01 09:50
I love Osprey’s military history books. I have a shelf full, mainly of the ancient world ones, but with some variation. Each book is written and illustrated by different contributors… Read More
2016-11-24 20:55
I’ve been a fan of the Jack Lark books since I first picked up ‘The Scalet Thief’. Paul Fraser Collard has created a character and an overall story that was fresh, new and… Read More
2016-11-22 21:22
The seventh novel in Ruth Downie’s Ruso and Tilla series takes us from Roman Britain (the setting for the majority of the books) for our first glimpse of Hadrianic Rome. And what a gl… Read More
2016-11-17 13:00
I am something of a lover of all things Byzantine these days, and an avid reader of historical fiction, of course, and so it’s no wonder really that this book came to my attention. Ta… Read More
2016-11-11 09:35
You might remember that some time back I reviewed the first short story in this series with mixed feelings due to the heavy use of modern vernacular. Well, recently I have been reading pre… Read More
2016-10-21 08:02
Only an excellent writer with a superb set of characters and an imagination full of fresh ideas can fuel a series to last more than maybe 4 or 5 books in a series. The fact that Tabula Rasa… Read More
2016-10-16 17:59
Like history? Need a good book to read? Well here’s a selection of some of my favourites. I’ve chosen one book by one author for each century, showcasing the very best of that er… Read More
2016-10-06 07:51
Book 5 in my tour of the life of Ruso and Tilla. It’s a rollercoaster ride, for sure. I’ve followed Ruso and his slave/housekeeper/girlfriend/wife from Chester to Northumberland… Read More
2016-10-03 09:00
Caroline Lawrence is an established author of chidren’s historical tales. In fact, there are probably few to match her. She is perhaps even the 21st century’s Rosemary Sut… Read More
2016-10-02 10:54
I am fortunate indeed today to play host to a guest post by the marvellous Ruth Downie as part of her Blog Tour, celebrating the release of her latest masterpiece ‘Vita Brevis’… Read More
2016-09-29 10:40
I suspect Ruso was my favourite investigator of crimes by the time I’d finished the first book in Ruth Downie’s Medicus series. The second book expanded this world to include da… Read More
2016-09-22 16:01
I used to sit, cocooned in my own little Roman world, reading Roman books and not straying beyond that. In fairness, there’s so much good Roman fiction out there you can actually do t… Read More
2016-09-15 15:18
(Also released as Ruso and the Root of all Evils)
I have a growing fondness for historical mysteries rather than the straightforward military novels or sagas or character biographies. Over… Read More
2016-09-08 13:11
One of the best ways, in my experience, to guage the quality of fiction is how easy it is to read. Yes, there is some crap out there that is an easy read, and yes, there are great reads out… Read More
2016-09-03 09:05
Back in April I read McCallin’s first Reinhardt novel (The Man From Berlin) completely off the cuff, as it sounded different and interesting. Set in wartime Sarajevo with a rather los… Read More
2016-08-25 11:31
I’ve had this book in my reading pile for some time, but didn’t want to read it until I’d finished writing my section of the coming collaboration on the Trojan War (A Song… Read More
2016-08-11 09:19
I find myself exultant that I was once more able to immerse myself in Blake’s world of 18th Century Preston, and yet also saddened that I have now read all the Cragg and Fidelis myste… Read More
2016-08-04 09:12
If ever there was a spoiler in the title, eh? But come on, we’ve been expecting this book for a while. Angus Donald’s superb Outlaw Chronicles have run to 8 books, which is pret… Read More
2016-07-21 07:57
Caesar’s Ambassador is a short story I picked up at random somewhere along the line and has just sat there on my kindle. Recently, I had a day free in my reading schedule, so I decide… Read More
2016-07-14 09:17
I’m behind on reading one of my favourite series, but I’m catching up now. The Lone Warrior is the fourth book in Paul Fraser Collard’s excellent mid-nineteenth century se… Read More
2016-06-30 08:00
Are you reading Nick Brown’s ‘Agent of Rome’ series? If not, then you need to check into either your local bookshop or your local head doctor. Nick Brown has created one o… Read More
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