Review: Hakkapeliitat I-III by Artturi Leinonen

Artturi Leinonen's Hakkapeliitat series (originally released as three novels) relates the adventures of a group of (Finnish) cavalry (whom the author refers to as dragoons) serving under the rule of the Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus during the 30 Years War. Written in 1932-1934, the storytelling style is old-fashioned: there's no strong overall plot and the story tends to get lost on tangents every now and then. Still, it is a fun read, overall, and deserving of a lot more attention than it has received in the recent years.

Review: Memoirs of a Cavalier by Daniel Defoe

Daniel Dafoe's Memoirs of a Cavalier relates the story of an unnamed cavalier who left England in search of an adventure in the early 17th century and ended up fighting in Gustavus Adolphus' army against the Holy Roman Empire. After the Swedish king's death, he returned to England and took part in the civil war. These two wars form the first and second half of the novel. As it is, this review only concerns the first half of this novel, because that is the part of history that is the focus of my interest.