W_L

Thanks Chris It's a major factor!

I never imagined I would return to England with a Jewish slave, a gift from the Margrave of Brandenburg. Sadly, I was not the first English monarch to enslave Jews under the guise of protection. William the Conqueror, England's first king, set a precedent in the 11th century by bringing Jews from Europe to England for financial administration under the guise of 'royal property' transfer. This occurred because the Catholic Church prohibited devout Christians from handling money. Once the Jews ent

Thanks Chris Joachim is a patriot to some and a nationalist to others. It depends on your perspective, but he was put into a place and time with only his natural intellect and skills as an intelligence operative. Those skills served him well to modernize Brandenburg-Prussia up to a point, but he like other factions in my universe relied on old elites and traditional groups (Clergy, Fraternities, and so on) for assistance in his nation. These groups have long-held beliefs that were created to protect or increase their power, i.e. targeting another ethnic religious group like Jews or sexual orientation like homosexuals. Like Prussia/Germany of the 19th century, keeping old institutions while modernizing your country can be a successful shortcut to reach goals, but it leaves a lot of issues, which the 20th century revealed. Eli has done away with power blocs from British inherited nobles to the Church of England, favoring meritocratic nobility and a Veritas sect that practices what would be characterize as either Secular Skeptics or Secular Theists.

As a result of the events in Copenhagen and Denmark, I recalled Francis from the Pyrenees in mid-1575. We needed to strengthen our intelligence apparatus for both foreign espionage and domestic counterespionage. The Northern Pact had transformed from a minor player into a major international alliance with unknown elements. The Swedish Empire had emerged a century ahead of its time, and the Hohenzollern Duchy of Brandenburg-Prussia had become the Kingdom of Prussia through the acquisition of nort

Truck-Kun is also a shapeshifter, he sometimes becomes a train, a knife from a crazy person, or sleep demon that takes souls when you close your eyes. Truly, the greatest killer of Isekai genre (Well outside Yogiri, but that boy is the personification of death)

It takes long hours of staring at blank MS Word documents, a lot of concept sessions with your inner muse, and luck in matching with readers' interests at a given place and time. My best advice is to read more and consider what you enjoy.

Thanks Mark, It's very high praise from an established author like you

Thanks, glad you like the battle Intrigue is fun, especially on the side of one's supposed allies. I am about to explore another interesting historic international relationship in the next chapter.

I dedicate this chapter to @Mark Arbour I hope folks like the naval battle and history lessons about the British intervention in Denmark and Russia. It's one of Admiral Horatio Nelson's least remembered battles, but at the 1st battle of Copenhagen, he demonstrated a good post-battle atmosphere to minimize civilian casualties. Sadly, in the second battle without his presence, the capital of Denmark was bombarded by the British navy in its bid against France and Russia. UK-Russia have a complex relationship of betrayal and death. I highly recommend folks who enjoy this arc in my story to read up on The Great Game.

Inciting a successful rebellion is typically a complex and arduous task, often requiring years of internal disunity and careful coordination. For example, in England, I spent nearly a decade preparing before making my move against Queen Mary. However, there are exceptions to this rule, especially when the target nation is already weakened by prolonged conflict and heavy casualties. War fatigue has plagued aggressors and occupying nations throughout history. Russia had exhausted too many troops a

Be careful what you wish for

For those who know my interests, Hamlet is one of my favorite Shakespearean plays, whether it's original or the Lion King reimagining (My email is a play on the words of Hamlet for instance ). Though not based on history, it's themes are timeless and asked some very deep ethical/moral questions about justice and vengeance.

In my timeline, the threat of nuclear war loomed over the latter half of the 20th century. I knew that atomic weapon technology would eventually emerge earlier in our world, especially with the rapid progress fueled by future beings like me. Jack’s last incarnation, Merlin, had left instructions in Avalon for such an event, which only Robert and I could access. Many geologists in my era knew that Greenland, like the rugged lands of Russia’s Kazakh vassal state, was a rich source of uranium. This

Lol, Team Jacob will embrace everyone @KristaI think you should try The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer, if you want something that isn't super cerebral Sci-fi, but still brainy and stimulating with two compelling queer characters and an interesting plot. The author is likely a fan of Arthur C. Clarke. Nifty is a hodge podge, it has some good stuff and it's the reason why I came here in the first place, along with several other communities. As for reference books, Food: A Cultural Culinary History by Ken Albala, it's a college-level textbook that I bought with one of my Audible credits. I thought I could enjoy it, but dang, it was slow and didn't really give me much more detail than my knowledge of food history and interaction. I didn't finish it, I just skipped around the chapters and looked up some facts. (With Chapters like "From Eden to Kosher Laws" and "From Hippies to Foodies", it jumped around on food history)

Docile by KM Szpara I like sci-fi, I like dystopian stories, I like gay erotica, and BDSM is the cherry on top. However, I just couldn't accept the bad plot concept of the story or the shallow character dynamics. DNF'd after 20 chapters. While the author claims the book is an indictment on class and capitalism, it's really just a story that glorifies victimization and victimizers. There is no real power dynamic, it's just abuse without any heart.

Most people discuss warfare in terms of personal encounters, I'm a huge fan of battle strategy and engagement doctrine. I'm one of those dorks who liked the PBS/BBC "Battlefield" documentary growing up

The civil war in France had just begun in the autumn of 1572, but it would engulf Europe in flames by the end of the year. In France, Valois forces invaded the province of Lorraine, raiding the House of Guise for gold and supplies. Strategically, Lorraine was crucial as a key link to the German railroad, offering a direct line through Luxembourg to the Imperial capital of Aachen. Though Habsburg air power outmatched the Valois with a 4:1 aircraft ratio, the sudden collapse of Lorraine and the Va

Can someone explain to me the difference between a Lorry in the UK and a Truck in the US? I know they're similar based on context.

Careful guys, it's getting close to political. GA has rules on discussing this stuff outside the Pit. Paid vacation differences was a neat topic, since the US doesn't universally have it and who doesn't want to have minimum paid vacations. It's not politics per se, just a weird concept from different perspectives.

Good point, employees are pro-rata based for their minimum paid vacation days. I was pointing out a full-time UK employee with an equivalent US employee of 5 days/week. The 28 days is 5.6 weeks based on the equivalent calculation (5.6 x 5 days/week= 28 days). Under UK law, your employer owes you 28 paid vacation days under an equivalent work schedule to many of US employees. Minutia of math is fun, especially if you want to have a good holiday

How about this one: The UK has a national paid vacation law for full-time workers: You are guaranteed a minimum of 28 days of paid vacation, it may be more, but should not be less. In the US: We do not have a federal vacation law for full-time workers. This means employers do not need to give paid vacations to their workers except what is stated in employment contracts. There are no minimum requirements outside contracts, unless there are local laws within states. -------- Many business owners in the US would prefer working their staff and saving money, when they are not productive. The UK law might change in the future for a certain megacorp *cough* Tesla *cough*, but for now, you guys can enjoy a minimum 28-day paid vacation.

Levofloxacin is one of the stronger 3rd-gen antibiotics, it must have been a really bad infection. I mentioned a Streptomyces derived 1st gen antibiotic, Chlortetracycline, which is still in use, but it's efficacy is much lower after many generations of use. Few people realized, but the more antibiotics that are used to kill bacteria, the more resistant they become to our efforts to counter or kill them. However, in this scenario, 1st gen antibiotics like tetracycline derivatives and the more famous penicillin would still be effective for a few generations. I used to work at Community Health Center and learned the interesting background of antibiotics from our pharmacist.

I know it's a little weird to hear me talk shop about medicine production and disease, but it's an interesting historical topic. I've considered writing a medical historical fiction at one point set around this period. The Black Death/Bubonic Plague wasn't limited to the 14th century, it lasted well into the 17th century and killed millions of people throughout Europe in later outbreaks. Most historians don't talk about its relationship with major historical events like the French Wars of Religion, English rise as a global power, and other conflicts, but these plague outbreaks caused major social, economic, and population shifts throughout Europe. Warfare is important, but so is the presence of disease and its impact on people, a fact most of us have learned from Covid first hand.

Some horses need diapers I am omitting a bunch of things that led to the break between Valois-Medici and Habsburg. As a 1st person narrative, Eli wouldn't be involved in clandestined covert ops, it's Francis' job. I am wondering if I should pause and begin writing the short stories now or after the completion of Book 1. France is just as interesting around this period. Enroute to Aquitaine's main port, Bordeaux, Eli will be involved in something interesting.

The journey to Aquitaine was eye-opening for my group. While I had intelligence reports from Francis’ informants about the situation in France and had made initial observations in the Artois and Île-de-France provinces, the reality on the ground is often hidden within unobserved details. The vast fields that operated using modified three-field systems and modern mechanized farming tools were one such example. Unlike the Norfolk system, implemented in the British Isles and Ireland, which employed