Theodore Brun (Author of A Mighty Dawn)

Theodore Brun and 2 other people liked Cristina Vargas's review of The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness: "Klavan has become a 21 century CS Lewis, gone noir This is not academic theology. You will notice it is not, because it is engaging and fun to read . But it is deep and enlightening, and will show you the light of transcendence , even in the darkest p" Read more of this review »
May 27, 2025 01:47AM · see review
Theodore Brun and 10 other people liked Jolie Dubriel's review of The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness: "I am so sad that I finish this book in three days. Out of all the quotes in this book that’s going to stick with me for quite sometime is, “Jesus is the way out of history”. I have never heard a phrase like that in my youth or in my adult life as a p" Read more of this review »
May 27, 2025 01:46AM · see review
Theodore Brun rated a book it was amazing The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness by Andrew Klavan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 27, 2025 01:45AM · like
Theodore Brun liked Ray's review of A Savage Moon (4) (The Wanderer Chronicles): "Excellent. Great bĺend of actual history with a stupendous story. Good work"
Feb 11, 2025 02:46AM · see review
Theodore Brun rated a book it was amazing Raven: Defier of Rome: Discover a BRAND NEW action-packed, epic historical series from Adam Lofthouse for 2025 (Enemy of the Empire Book 1) by Adam Lofthouse (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
“There really was nothing likeable about Rome.” So writes Adam Lofthouse in his exciting new release, Raven. The remark jumped out at me because it’s written in the voice of one of the most likeable anti-heroes I’ve read in a long time. Maybe ever in ...more
Feb 03, 2025 10:34PM · 1 like · like · see review
Theodore Brun liked Emily Harrell's review of A Sacred Storm (The Wanderer Chronicles, #2): "4.5 ⭐️ "
Jan 08, 2025 08:12AM · see review
Theodore Brun has read The Secrets of Sainte Madeleine by Tilly Bagshawe	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 27, 2024 05:20PM · like
Theodore Brun rated a book it was amazing Dark Frontier by Matthew Harffy (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dark Frontier is a rare thing indeed - a book that acts as a portal into an experience I had no clue I was missing out on: the Western novel. Matthew Harffy is already a favourite author of mine - few can write action adventure better than he. Thus fa ...more
Jun 26, 2024 11:15PM · 2 likes · like · see review
Theodore Brun rated a book it was amazing Sword of the War God by Tim Hodkinson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Right off the bat, this novel deserves five stars for achieving what seems to me a remarkable feat of scholarship - quite apart from its many other strengths. You often hear of authors 'weaving' together an engaging or entertaining story, but in this ...more
Apr 06, 2024 12:19AM · 3 likes · like · see review
Theodore Brun rated a book it was amazing Arthur (The Arthurian Tales, #3) by Giles Kristian (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Happily I received an advanced copy of this novel, for which I am very grateful. Also Giles Kristian is a personal friend. But I hasten to add, while this probably means this could never be a truly unbiased review, it is at least a sincere one; and m ...more
Mar 23, 2024 07:59AM · 5 likes · like · see review

Theodore Brun and 2 other people liked Cristina Vargas's review of The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness:

"Klavan has become a 21 century CS Lewis, gone noir

This is not academic theology. You will notice it is not, because it is engaging and fun to read . But it is deep and enlightening, and will show you the light of transcendence , even in the darkest p" Read more of this review »

Theodore Brun and 10 other people liked Jolie Dubriel's review of The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness:

"I am so sad that I finish this book in three days. Out of all the quotes in this book that’s going to stick with me for quite sometime is, “Jesus is the way out of history”. I have never heard a phrase like that in my youth or in my adult life as a p" Read more of this review »

Theodore Brun rated a book it was amazing

The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness
by Andrew Klavan (Goodreads Author)

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Theodore Brun liked Ray's review of A Savage Moon (4) (The Wanderer Chronicles):

"Excellent. Great bĺend of actual history with a stupendous story. Good work"

Theodore Brun rated a book it was amazing

Raven: Defier of Rome: Discover a BRAND NEW action-packed, epic historical series from Adam Lofthouse for 2025 (Enemy of the Empire Book 1)
by Adam Lofthouse (Goodreads Author)

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“There really was nothing likeable about Rome.”

So writes Adam Lofthouse in his exciting new release, Raven.

The remark jumped out at me because it’s written in the voice of one of the most likeable anti-heroes I’ve read in a long time. Maybe ever in “There really was nothing likeable about Rome.”

So writes Adam Lofthouse in his exciting new release, Raven.

The remark jumped out at me because it’s written in the voice of one of the most likeable anti-heroes I’ve read in a long time. Maybe ever in the arena of dark age action adventure.

And there are few ages darker than the forested tracts of northern Germania in the mid-second century where this novel is set. This is the world beyond the frontier where Rome’s policy of divide-and-conquer, fueled by her inexhaustible supply of gold, never ceases to stir up strife. Although, as Lofthouse points out, while there was plenty of dividing, for the Romans in Germania, the conquering part remained forever elusive.

Raven follows the tale of a man born to thrive in such a world of violence and betrayal. Alaric Hengistsson, a Loki-worshipping warlord, with a mercenary band of 500 swords at his back - whose tendency to sell his skills to the highest bidder has left a lot of vengeful enemies in his wake. The only real constant in his life is his hatred of meddling Rome. Other than that, he’s a man in many ways easy to please. He likes a good fight, likes burnishing his fearsome reputation, enjoys a good feed and a horn of ale as much as the next man of his time. He has an eye for a beautiful woman, sure. But it’s his sense of humour that elevates him above your average dark age warlord. He carries off his leadership with such swagger and such wry self-deprecating charm, that you can’t help liking the treacherous bastard from the outset. By the end, you almost love him. In a word, it’s just great fun hanging out with Alaric. As all his Ravensworn retinue - well apart from those plotting to stab him in the back - would no doubt agree. There is never a dull moment in Alaric’s company, with so many breathless battles and skirmishes and raids and moments of betrayal that you wonder how the heck anyone in that age of gods and heroes survived more than five minutes. Since Alaric possesses “Loki-cunning” and by the end of the novel most of his friends are dead, perhaps there’s your answer.

The plot canters along its twisting and turning path. But it was the writing that was more than a match for the story and which I found truly impressive. It’s an odd combination, I’ll admit, but I was put in mind of two other writers, both of whom I love - Joe Abercrombie and George MacDonald Fraser. If you put them in a blender and threw in a setting of second century Germania, I’d be amazed if you got anything better than what Lofthouse has created for us here.

Altogether a Dark Age zinger - fast paced, full of action, with an anti-hero who deserves to live long in your memory… Certainly, far longer than he’d deserve to live in real life.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ...more

Theodore Brun liked Emily Harrell's review of A Sacred Storm (The Wanderer Chronicles, #2):

"4.5 ⭐️ "

Theodore Brun has read

The Secrets of Sainte Madeleine
by Tilly Bagshawe

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Theodore Brun rated a book it was amazing

Dark Frontier
by Matthew Harffy (Goodreads Author)

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Dark Frontier is a rare thing indeed - a book that acts as a portal into an experience I had no clue I was missing out on: the Western novel.

Matthew Harffy is already a favourite author of mine - few can write action adventure better than he. Thus fa Dark Frontier is a rare thing indeed - a book that acts as a portal into an experience I had no clue I was missing out on: the Western novel.

Matthew Harffy is already a favourite author of mine - few can write action adventure better than he. Thus far, most (if not all) his published novels are set in the "Dark Ages" of Britain or Europe. (Call it early medieval action adventure if you want to be historically a bit more accurate.) So it might feel a departure for him to come out with a novel set in the Old West. Nevertheless, as Harffy himself would tell you, the cross-overs are there if you want to see them. The co-existence of "right" alongside "might" - some sort of rule of law, and yet plenty of scope for power-hungry warlords to throw their weight around in their own little fiefdoms. Whether the "warriors" gathered around them are packing swords and seaxes, or Colts and Remingtons, is in some ways a mere detail. The shape and motives of the story are similar. And having mastered one form (the medieval), Harffy doesn't seem to have any trouble delivering something equally impressive in the other (the Western).

Aside from that, Dark Frontier is just an incredibly satisfying novel. The premise alone was enough to hook me: an English protagonist, with a wonderfully rich backstory - ex-Hussar and veteran of the Battle of Maiwand in Afghanistan, and ex-detective of late 1880s London (think Jack the Ripper) - who has made his way out to the Far West of Oregon at the invitation of his best and oldest friend from his army days. Only to find on arrival that his friend has just been murdered. It's a brilliant conceit - to see this brutal yet beautiful world through the eyes of a man fresh out of the Old Country, as it enables the reader to witness the breathtaking landscapes and nascent culture with astonishing freshness. We've all seen these moments a thousand times in Western movies or TV shows. But something about experiencing this through the written words of a novel gives one something far more: the simple joys of falling into a real bed with your boots on after several days out on the trail; the satisfaction of blowing plumes of smoke from your first cheroot; the taste of hot baked biscuits and freshly ground coffee doled out for breakfast on a ranch; the reassuring weight of a Colt revolver in your hand. These are new experiences for Gabriel Stokes the protagonist, which we get to enjoy too. For me, this is one of the best things about the novel. It transported me to a time and place I really wanted to experience. And Harffy is brilliantly adept at putting the reader wherever he wants him or her to be.

Besides the setting and language and world-building, Dark Frontier is populated by a fantastic array of characters. The old ranch-hand/gunslinger Jed White stands out as a striking creation - everything you would ever want from a character of the Old West. So entirely dissolute and yet entirely likeable and brimming over with charisma that I can easily see Harffy's fans wanting to read book after book featuring him (as if he needs to kick start another series on top of his others!) simply to spend time in his company.

Gabriel Stokes is also impressive. A man haunted by many ghosts from his past, and yet he carries off the English-gentleman-out-on-the-range with large dollops of honour and panache, as well as a dash of self-deprecating humour. A teetotaller who has forsaken hard liquor by necessity, I was waiting for the moment when Stokes would crack and everything would fall apart. But to his credit, his willpower holds strong. And I realised it said a lot about his character. It might have been too easy to go for that moment as an author, but Harffy knows the man too well. There you go, occasionally the English stiff upper lip does come in handy!

Otherwise, the story is an intriguing tale of murder, greed, betrayal and courage in the face of pretty slender odds. The central mystery is not entirely impenetrable as to "who dun it?", but the motive is buried pretty deep and comes as a shock near the end. By then, however, those questions have become secondary to the essential climax - a final showdown between the good guys and the bad guys - a trope that everyone expects and needs at the end of a story like this.

Mr. Harffy - a tip of the hat to you. I loved this novel and loved coming on this journey with Gabriel Stokes and Jed White. I'm sure (I hope) there will be many more adventures to follow.

With Dark Frontier, Harffy proves himself a pioneer. He appears to have single-handedly resurrected the Western novel to a place of prominence on the (UK) historical action adventure map. His passion for the genre shines through. And as for us readers, we can only be grateful that he's set himself on this new path. This is more than a classic Western. It is an enthralling story utterly true to its time and place, paced to perfection, and populated with some of the most engaging characters you will find in historical fiction today. ...more

Theodore Brun rated a book it was amazing

Sword of the War God
by Tim Hodkinson (Goodreads Author)

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Right off the bat, this novel deserves five stars for achieving what seems to me a remarkable feat of scholarship - quite apart from its many other strengths.

You often hear of authors 'weaving' together an engaging or entertaining story, but in this Right off the bat, this novel deserves five stars for achieving what seems to me a remarkable feat of scholarship - quite apart from its many other strengths.

You often hear of authors 'weaving' together an engaging or entertaining story, but in this case, 'weaving' is absolutely the right word. Hodkinson has shone a light on what is surely one of the most obscure periods of European history in the last two millennia. It is probably no accident that the mid-fifth century in Europe birthed so many of the myths and legends which have endured through to this day. Perhaps more than any epoch, it was an Age of Heroes, and Tim Hodkinson has drawn on a remarkable numbers of sources - both legendary and historical - to create a fascinating and undeniably epic tale.

My own obsession with Dark Age history (and writing) began through the music of Wagner's Ring Cycle. So I already had a soft spot for the stories of Sigurd the Dragon-Slayer and the Niebelunglied - the two main sources of Hodkinson's novel. But as Hodkinson's retelling unfolded, I was at turns delighted and impressed by the sheer ingenuity with which he managed to layer in all the other legends and historical events contemporary to that original tale. We see the twilight of the Western Empire of Rome; the terror of Attila the Hun, the ultimate 'other' arising out of the depths of Asia, encroaching on Western Europe; an imagined reality behind the myths of Odin/Woden and the other warrior god-kings of the Norse; even a glimpse of Arthur and Merlin at one point. All these alongside the more linear story of Gunderic, Gunhild, Brynhild, Sigurd and Hagan.

For any enthusiast of the so-called Dark Ages, there is so much to enjoy in the way Hodkinson re-imagines these many core myths of Europe, spinning them together in such an expert and seamless way, that really by the end of the novel, he has made something all of his own. All the same, it's great fun to recognise well-known tropes like the Valkyries and the Bersirkirs, the Wild Hunt, even Wagner's Albericht the Dwarf reprised as Hodkinson's Zerco - presented in a different and original way.

This is epic storytelling in every sense. True, the characters Hodkinson has to play with - those named above especially - are not the most sympathetic bunch of people. But since almost all of them end up killing each other, perhaps that doesn't matter!

There is action a-plenty, viscerally and thrillingly described - as well as intrigue, betrayal, and mystery that keeps the pages turning. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the story is the slow but inexorable breakdown of the friendships that seemed so strong at the beginning of the plot. Hodkinson leads us down this path with great skill.

All in all, this is a bold re-imagining of an enduring epic.

Hodkinson stands in a great tradition of storytelling - stretching back to the original author of the Niebelunglied, but more recently including Wagner (who was in a sense the great-grandfather of epic stories of the moving image like Dune, Gladiator, Band of Brothers, Game of Thrones etc.) Tolkien, CS Lewis, George RR Martin, Giles Kristian and others. Hodkinson stands a worthy successor to such an illustrious line.

Highly recommended - especially for those interested in the ancient foundational myths of this fascinating continent of Europe. ...more

Theodore Brun rated a book it was amazing

Arthur (The Arthurian Tales, #3)
by Giles Kristian (Goodreads Author)

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Happily I received an advanced copy of this novel, for which I am very grateful. Also Giles Kristian is a personal friend. But I hasten to add, while this probably means this could never be a truly unbiased review, it is at least a sincere one; and m ...more

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	A Mighty Dawn (The Wanderer Chronicles #1) 4.03 avg rating — 543 ratings — published 2017 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Sacred Storm (The Wanderer Chronicles, #2) 4.38 avg rating — 335 ratings — published 2018 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Burning Sea (The Wanderer Chronicles, #3) 4.37 avg rating — 154 ratings — published 2020 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Winter's Night: A thrilling mix of history and fantasy, for fans of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series 4.02 avg rating — 141 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Savage Moon (The Wanderer Chronicles #4) 4.35 avg rating — 48 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Burning Sea (The Wanderer Chronicles Book 3) 4.91 avg rating — 11 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sailor: A Yuletide Story 4.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Savage Moon (The Wanderer Chronicles Book 4) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wanderer Chronicles (2 Book Series) 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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