On The Books-Well, That Didn't Happen!

As a voracious reader with decades of dedication to the cause of book loving under my belt, I love discovering contemporary authors brave enough to conquer the challenge of a retelling or reimagining of a long-known tale.  Or a truth for that matter…  

Gathered here are stories unearthed, roads not taken, secrets unveiled and parallels you never imagined possible.

11/22/63 – STEPHEN KING (REAL EVENTS/PEOPLE)

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas. President Kennedy was dead, and the world forever changed. What if you could change it back? King absorbs us in the social, political, and popular culture of the time and takes us on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it. A secret portal and one man’s obsession may hold the key. Only King could make me believe in time travel…

If you liked…Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, The Girls by Emma Cline, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

THE WOMEN OF TROY – PAT BARKER (MYTHOLGICAL EVENTS/PEOPLE)

A daring feminist retelling of The Iliad from the perspective of the women who endured it. Troy has fallen and the victorious Greeks are eager to return home with the spoils of an endless war, including the women of Troy themselves. As they wait for a sign from the Gods, things begin to unravel as old feuds resurface and new rivalries fester. Unnoticed by her captors, one-time Trojan queen Briseis quietly forges alliances and forms a plan.

If you liked…A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, Olympus Texas by Stacey Swann, Daughter of Sparta by Claire Andrews

AFFAIR OF THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER – ALEIS HALL (FICTIONAL EVENTS/PEOPLE)

A witty and weird fantasy novel that pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a unique twist on those renowned characters.

After five years fighting a war in another universe, John Wyndham finds himself looking for a new home. He ends up with a new housemate, Miss Shaharazad Haas, a consulting sorceress of mercurial temperament and dark reputation. When she is enlisted to solve a crime, he’s drawn into the mystery and the allure of the unexpected.

If you liked…Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz, A Talent For Murder by Andrew Wilson, Silence And Circumstance by Roy Dimond

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD – COLSON WHITEHEAD (REAL EVENTS/PEOPLE)

In Colson’s novel, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor. Engineers and conductors operate a secret network of actual tracks and tunnels with stops all throughout the south.

Cora is a young slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. An outcast even among her fellow slaves, she knows that harder times await her. A young man urges her to join him on the Underground Railroad and she seizes the opportunity to escape. On her harrowing flight, she encounters strange yet familiar iterations of her own world.

If you liked…Dread Nation by Justina Ireland, Secrets Of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen, She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan