The Hopfield Tales is a collection of three novellas - two previously published and one new one - with a common theme of place. All three stories are set in modern day Hopfield, a fictional and somewhat sleepy town of Yorkshire, Northern England. These tales, as they are aptly called, blend the ordinary with the extraordinary, bringing some of English history and legend to captivate the reader. These are not your typical time travel stories of modern day characters traveling back in time. Instead, the legend of Robin Hood, the wonderment of Viking gods and history of Ivar Ragnarsson's (aka Ivar the Boneless) invasion and capture of York, and the histories of the Roman rule of Britannia, the Battle of Caer Caradoc and Buodicca are woven into the very fabric of these stories.

In The Spirit Archer, young Jamie Wilson has troubles of his own with failing grades and working nights and weekends in the local chip shop as the sole support for his widowed and troubled Mom. Jamie doesn't see much in his future. This otherwise run-of-the-mill story of overcoming personal trials transforms into something unique with the chance discovery by Jamie of the real grave of England's most legendary archer, along with the archer's still lingering spirit with secrets to tell. With an unusual budding of a friendship that bridges over 800 years, this one has the makings of a charming and heart-warming YA story that provides a different perspective on the tale of Robin Hood.

The Campaign of the Gods, is a roller coaster of a ride after The Spirit Archer. Premise: What happens when a board game two Viking gods, Týr and Thor, are playing up in Asgard turns into a larger than life reenactment in modern day Hopfield? For PCs Walker and Gooding, a routine day on the beat is anything but routine when Fenrir's wolf packs and Ivar Ragnarsson's berserker warriors show up in town to battle over the Hopfield Stone. Evers lets his playful side show here as our Viking warriors encounter everything from modern markets to modern forms of transportation and strange people. (Yes, to the Vikings of Ragnarsson's time, we are very strange people!) Fun with a capital "F". This was my favorite story in the collection. Loved the characters, the plot and the dialogue. The ending could have been better but overall an great story!

The last story, Mark of the Legion took longer for me to warm up to and probably because my understanding of Roman history and the time of Roman rule over Britannia is pretty much based on my reading of Asterix the Gaul books, and not much else. When Brother Bentham, a monk in the Brotherhood of the Resurrection, is assigned to befriend octogenarian Ernest Teale, an elderly resident in the care home across the street from the monastery, he is taken aback when Ernest calls him Titus and by what Ernest seems to know about the legendary Roman Ninth Legion. This one was more of a sleeper story - and a bit of a letdown after the fun of Campaign of the Gods but it did come together in the end quite nicely.

Overall, three different stories providing a focus on three different time periods of England's past. I loved the way Evers brought out the details of history through Robin and Ernest's stories and through the Viking notebook and historical references provided by PC Walker, a weekend Viking reenactment hobbyist. I enjoyed the stories and learned a whole lot about fascinating events in history at the same time. ( )