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Thoughts on Paris
Atrocity. Civil war. Growing up in a world filled with horrors we cannot imagine. Living with no hope of a better future. These things break people. Broken people are dangerous. They break more things. In the wake of the Paris attacks, in the midst of the pain, anger, and incomprehension we are all feeling, I…
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SIEGE now available in US!
My first novel, SIEGE, is now available for download in the US. For those on this side of the pond who haven’t read it, now’s your chance! And if you have read it, it’s worth taking a second look. Â I’ve made a few improvements; see if you can spot them… Click here for a sneak…
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Q and A with Historical Novel Society
I talk Holy War, the Lionheart, the Crusades, and the clash of religions with Richard Lee of the Historical Novel Society: http://historicalnovelsociety.org/holy-war-the-conclusion-of-the-saladin-trilogy-launches-23rd-may-author-jack-hight-talks-the-lionheart-the-crusades-and-the-clash-of-religions/
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Saladin Trilogy: Was Richard the Lionheart Really a Great King?
First, some shameless self-promotion: Holy War is out on 23 May (order your copy now!). In this, the final volume of the Saladin Trilogy, Richard the Lionheart makes his long-awaited appearance in the Holy Land, where he does battle with the forces of Saladin. Richard provides great fodder for fiction, and writing his character was…
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Review: Life after Life by Kate Atkinson
A wonderful book that is at once deeply philosophical and thoroughly enjoyable, while bringing the first half of the 20th century to vivid life. For a book titled Life after Life, there certainly is an abundance of death in Kate Atkinson’s wonderful new novel. Given the setting – the book’s arc encompasses both World Wars…
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Syria then and Now: The Battle for Aleppo
The civil war in Syria, which began in March 2011, has now gone on for so long that it has ceased to be news. As the opposition struggle against the Assad regime has stretched over weeks, then months, then years, the conflict has migrated from the front to the back pages of western newspapers. In…
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Taking Time to Read
I love to read and have since I was a child. Â My love of books is why I became a novelist in the first place. Â It has been a bit disappointing, then, to find that the more I write, the less I seem to read. Â When I do find time for a book, it is…
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Review: How We’d Talk if the English Had WON in 1066, by David Cowley
David Cowley’s book is an enjoyable thought experiment – a beginners guide not to Old English, but to how modern English might have looked had the English won at Hastings. How would we talk if the English had won at Hastings? The giant question hinted at on the cover of David Cowley’s interesting book is…
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Saladin Trilogy: Beyond the Book #5 – Fan mail / Neo-Orientalism
One of the more surreal aspects of being a writer is receiving fan mail (or fan email, to be more precise).  It’s not something I thought much about before I published my first novel. I write because I love it. I love digging into history and bringing the past to life. I feel privileged –…
Jack Hight
Writer of history, sci-fi, and more…
