Why do I ask? Well, I posted recently about the editorial review I had from Kirkus for The Spy who Sank the Armada. I also had a review from The Historical Fiction Company. It was a very good review, but I had to point out to them that in parts of their review, Anthony had become Stephen and Standen had become Holden. In the published review they corrected most of those errors, but one Holden remained. There is a Stephen Holden. He’s an American writer, poet and critic. There’s also an Anthony Holden, an English writer, broadcaster, poker player, and critic. So I can only imagine that the review writer associated one of them with my character for some reason.
Anyway the review said some nice things.
“The Spy Who Sank the Armada’ by David West is the first of three books devoted to the highly perilous life and times of Sir Anthony Standen, Tudor mercenary spy for hire; a man well in tune with the extremely fraught times in which he lived. This is a Tudor spy thriller, unabashed, unapologetic, and written in grand, pacey style!”
“This is a fine and stirring tale indeed and bodes well for the following books charting the further life and times of Sir Anthony Standen. From the relatively few known verifiable facts regarding the life of the man, David West has conjured up an epic portrayal of a truly ‘Renaissance’ figure [at one point he reveals a skill of draughtsmanship and portraiture]; a nerveless and cold-blooded ‘Maestro’ of his chosen profession. The book is peppered with the emergence and frequent re-emergence of notable historical figures who, again in the style of ‘Candide’, display a habit of appearing with unfortunate results. In telling this story the author has clearly been scrupulous in his attention to the welter of confusing and often seemingly contradictory information that surrounds this complex and fascinating period of European history that may have the beneficial effect of persuading readers to carry out their own research. ‘The spy who sank the Armada’ is a fine read and accomplishment and bodes well for its successors.”
You can read the whole review here.