Open Letters Monthly

Just noticed a smart review of THE RISEN at Open Letters Monthly. Very pleased with it.

I like these folks. Of course I do, considering they say things like: "Durham delivers a fuller, grittier, and more satisfying one even than the standard-bearer, Howard Fast’s 1951 blockbuster Spartacus. This is a near-perfect thinking-person’s dramatization of the Spartacus story..." They also quote from the novel several times, which is nice because I get to go, "Hey, I wrote that!"

Milestone

My wife, Gudrun, hit a milestone today. A new knitwear pattern of hers, called Lang Ayre, just appeared in THE BOOK OF HAPS, by Kate Davies and Jen Arnall-Culliford. 

Thing is, when Gudrun checked out her Ravelry page, she realized this is her 100th pattern! Yikes. She's been busy...

You can see all Gudrun's patterns here!

All Smiles

I woke this morning to a lovely surprise.

George RR Martin just did a post on his Not a Blog called "Good Stuff". It's about films he's liked recently, and TV series, books he's read or is looking forward to reading. You know where I'm heading, right?

He wrote: "Also on hand is David Anthony Durham's new historical novel, THE RISEN, his take on Spartacus. DAD never disappoints, and Spartacus is another fascination of mine... I look forward to seeing how Durham's take on him differs from Howard Fast's and Colleen McCullough's."

Wow. Needless to say, I'm all smiles.

He Was Spartacus - WSJ

Pleased to say that THE RISEN just picked up a stellar review, this one from the Wall Street Journal! The reviewer is Allan Massie, quite a veteran of Roman biographical novels himself. So I'm pleased.

He said some very nice things, including, "THE RISEN is full of blood, thunder and excitement. Spartacus is an inspiring, attractive hero."

 (I've linked to the review just because, but sometimes only subscribers can actually read the whole thing. Other times it appears for me. Weird.)

"an absorbing new historical novel about Spartacus..."

The Washington Post has nice things to say about THE RISEN.

The Risen Is Historical Fiction for Fantasy Fans

Jeff Somers has written a terrific article about magic and belief in THE RISEN for the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog. Wow. As an author it's rare and wonderful to read such a thorough, insightful engagement with my work. Yay!

Historical Novel Society on THE RISEN

And here's another generous review of my new book, just a couple days ahead of pub date.

Book review: Legend of Spartacus retold in 'The Risen'

Very generous review of THE RISEN at the Fredericksburg Freelance Star!