Review of Hag of the Hills (Book 1 of the Bronze Sword Cycles) by J.T.T. Ryder
(Old World Heroism, 2022). ISBN: 978-82-692791-1-5 As a longtime writer of historical fiction, I deeply appreciate the time and effort—the passion and commitment—that authors in this popular genre expend. After all, many authors claiming to be writing in this genre simply make things up, shooting from the hip of history, inserting well-known names and tropes like the Nazis and Templars, and promoting their slipshod stories as authentic historical fiction. The fact is, in order to make such a claim, you have to be willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Bernard Cornwell (arguably the best historical fiction writer of the late BC/early AD periods), Caleb Carr, Michael Shaara, George MacDonald Fraser, and John Jakes. It’s nearly as daunting as claiming a spot in the realms of high fantasy, where JRR Tolkien (whom Ryder quotes in the Afterword) and George RR Martin are the scales on which we are (brutally, ruthlessly ) measured and weighed. JTT Ryder (his name itself is