Mr. Graue frequently dipped into "The Universal History of the World," a children's book by Golden Press, to get ideas for historical yarns.
There are historical yarns like Suffragette and Bridge of Spies and Argo-ish explainers such as Truth (about political interference on the Dan Rather CBS talkshow), Spotlight (journalists under a Catholic paedophile ring) and Everest (people die while hiking).
Interestingly, among contenders for the Man Booker prize, it was two historical yarns, Graeme Macrae Burnet's His Bloody Project and Ian McGuire's "gleefully gruesome" (Hilary Mantel) The North Water that appear to have captured the imagination, with several contributors confessing that they were hoping to catch up with Paul Beatty's winner, The Sellout, over Christmas.
The story of an unnamed narrator trudging through the grass and sand, reading out letters meant for his dead wife, Esther, remains elusive and haunting, the exact time and place of the action obfuscated behind historical yarns and recollections, as though the island is exerting its own autobiography onto the telling.
Two of the producers, Mark Canton and Gianni Nunnari, served the same role on "300" (directed by Zack Snyder), the historical action yarn with which "Immortals" is most likely to draw comparisons.
They're connected by a historical narrative — a yarn, in Mabou's parlance — written by Nancy Groce, an urban folklorist who has worked with the Smithsonian Institution.
Set on British general election day 2010, Robert Harris's latest novel is a characteristic combination of ripping yarn, political and historical verisimilitude and diligent research into a hither-to closed world.
Whatever, have a look and see if you agree... Set amid the swashbuckling and treasure pilfering of piracy's golden age, the latest yarn in Ubisoft's historical adventure series is a distinct improvement on the last couple of instalments.
A voracious reader, first of comic books (superheroes, mostly, but some Classics Illustrated and Disney stuff as well), then of paperbacks (science fiction, horror and fantasy, with a seasoning of murder mysteries, adventure yarns, and historicals), I travelled far and wide while hunched down in my favourite chair, turning pages.
