With me this week is E.C. Ambrose, author of Elisha Barber and, out this week, Elisha Magus, the first two books of a historical fantasy series about a barber-surgeon in 13th century England. We talk about the question “how much fantasy is too much in historical fantasy?” And also…
Edward II and his row with daddy.
Witchcraft and politics: two things he’d always hoped to avoid.
Tim Powers’s Secret histories
Playing with historical perspectives on magic is a lot of fun for me.
You want it to be clear that magic has an influence, but without breaking completely from reality.
The Novels of the Company (It was the cyborgs the whole time!)
People are excited by the potential for mystery that’s still out there in the world.
