Candace Robb / The Guilt of Innocents
It is the winter of 1372, and in York a man has drowned in the river Ouse after a skirmish with boys from St. Peter's School. It soon becomes clear that his death was not an accident - but why would a humble pilot on the river be killed for possessing a young boy's purse? Suspicion falls on Father Nicholas Ferriby - vicar of Weston and master of a small grammar school - who has already offended many with his unpopular beliefs. But is he really a murderer?
One-eyed spy, Owen Archer, Captain of Archbishop Thoresby's guard and noted for solving many crimes, is quickly brought to the scene by his adoptive son, Jasper. Clear that the pilot has been killed for more than a purse, an increasingly cantankerous Thoresby reluctantly agrees to let Own investigate the man's murder. Torn between solving the crimes and looking after his wife, Lucie, who is expecting their long-awaited third child, Owen is soon taken away from home. When another body is found in the river and Owen and Jasper get nearer to the truth, they find their own lives in jeopardy.
Author Candace Robb has a Ph.D in Medieval and Anglo-Saxon Literature, and a particular interest in the history of York and the 14th century. This is her ninth book in the Owen Archer series, and in it she blends real historical figures and events with a fascinating mystery, and a cast of compelling characters to create an intriguing story.
The Phoenix Unchained / Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
In Phoenix Unchained, Lackey and Mallory have returned to the world of Armethalieh 1000 years after the events in the Obsidian Trilogy, which have become the stuff of myth and legend. We are introduced to scholarly Tyr Rolfort whose future involves becoming a clerk and noble for the city of Armethalieh, and Harrier Gillain, Tyr's best friend whose destiny is to follow in his father's footsteps and become City Harbour Master - futures neither boy is really looking forward to.
This book reverses the situation in the previous novels, with Wild Magic being the predominant force, although practitioners are becoming rarer, and High Magick forgotten. Elves and dragons are known to exist, but live in distant lands and are never seen.
Tyr rediscovers books on High Magick in the city library and attempts to teach himself, but only succeeds in setting his bedroom on fire. His dreams then become haunted by a vision of a lake of fire and a demonic woman. Tyr decides his best hope is to try and find a Wild Mage to help him, and he and Harrier set off into the Wilds.
Meanwhile, Wild Mage Bisochim has become convinced of his calling to set the balance aright by bringing darkness back into the world. Having found and bonded with the dragon Saravasse, he plans to draw on her power to further his dark goals.
This is a welcome return to a fascinating world of magic, elves, dragons and the fight between good and evil.
Cricket Walkabout : the Aboriginal Cricketers of the 1860s / Rex Harcourt & John Mulvaney
This is the story of Johnny Mullagh and his fellow team members, who undertook the first Australian cricket tour of England. Within three short years this team of tribal Aborigines, mostly from a small, compact area of Western Victoria, mastered the rudiments of cricket and in 1868 were able to match it with long established English teams on a tour of England.
In a gruelling season which lasted from May to October, without many rest days or leisure time, the team played cricket with enthusiasm, enjoyment and a standard of sportsman ship which reminded the English players about the true spirit in which the game should be played. They generated goodwill and engendered respect wherever they played at a time when English cricket was in turmoil.
In addition they demonstrate remarkable versatility with their displays of tribal skills and athletic contests against local and regional champion athletes. Their accurate spear throwing, mock battles, jumping vaulting and hurdling more than matched their competitors.
Harcourt and Mulvaney provide a short introduction to the early development of cricket in Australian before going on to look at the how the game developed in the Western District, and the creation of the team that played matches around Victoria, including at the MCC, before going to England. The tour is covered in detail, and the book finishes with an overview of the lives of the cricketers following their return from England.
This is an intriguing account of a story with local historical interest.
