Category: Historical Fiction
The Eagles’ Brood by Jack Whyte
(Cover picture courtesy of 49th Shelf.)
The Eagles’ Brood continues the saga of the Colony known as Camulod, and the tale of the descendants of those brave Romans who forged a new way of life for the Celt and Roman peoples when the Roman legions departed Britain.
Most know the new leader of the Colony as Merlyn; all call him Commander. Cauis Merlyn Britannicus is responsible for their safety, and all look to him for guidance, leadership, justice, and salvation. It is a harsh life but a good community, and Merlyn is dedicated to spreading the influence of Roman culture beyond the Colony’s borders.
Uther Pendragon, the man who will father the legendary Arthur, is the cousin Merlyn has known and loved since they were birthed, four hours apart on the same day, the year the legions left Britain. He is the tireless warrior–the red dragon to Merlyn’s great silver bear–and between the two of them, the Colony knows few enemies.
As different as they can be, they are inseparable: two faces of the same coin. In a world torn apart by warfare and upheaval, each is the other’s certainty and guarantee of the survival of the Colony . . . until a vicious crime, one that strikes at the roots of Merlyn’s life, drives a wedge between them. A wedge that threatens the fate of a nation . . . .
For me, The Eagle’s Brood was such a sad book. I had to say goodbye to some of my favourite characters from the previous two books: Picus, Publius Varrus and Equus. Although Caius Merlyn doesn’t have the flair and sense of humour of Publius Varrus, I really did grow to love him as a narrator.
The characters were great in this. We see everything through Merlyn’s eyes, with all of his judgments and flaws. He’s a good person but not a perfect character and gradually realizes his flaws. He can be more than a little judgmental and arrogant at times, but I love how the perspective is told from his older self looking back on his youth. It brings a little more balance to the equation and I loved Merlyn all the more for it. Uther was an okay character, but we didn’t really get to see much of the good side of him at all. That’s why I feel I need to reread Uther (the standalone Jack Whyte later wrote from Uther’s perspective) to fully understand him better.
The plot wasn’t the most fast-moving at the beginning, but the last few hundred pages went fast. The familiar Arthurian mythology we all know and love is now present almost all of the way through the novel and combined with the other events like the war with Lot, this made for a fast read. If you’re just picking this book up without reading the first two in A Dream of Eagles you won’t appreciate it as much, but each of Jack Whyte’s books can stand on their own.
I can’t and won’t really comment on the historical accuracy of The Eagles’ Brood. Although the main events of the novel are correct: the Romans withdrew from Britain, the Saxons started raiding the shores, tribes squabbled for control while the remaining Romans in the province tried to restore some order. I have a feeling that most of Jack Whyte’s novel is historically accurate because of what I know of ancient Rome as well as how he really sucks you into that period of time. You really do feel like you’re there and that’s something I’ve always admired in him as a writer.
Despite some rather graphic, disturbing scenes I really did enjoy The Eagles’ Brood. I’d highly recommend A Dream of Eagles series to anyone who enjoys the Arthurian legends, with or without magical elements.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Éire’s Viking by Sandi Layne
(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)
Beginning ten years after the end of Éire’s Captive Moon, this is the story of how Agnarr Halvardson returns to Éire with the intention of settling there, marrying, and siring sons.
It is also the story of Aislinn, who was a child in Ragor when the Northmen raided eleven summers prior but is now a working physician in her own right. She spent a year in Bangor Monastery and became a Christian before Cowan and Charis returned to take the children to Cowan’s village in the kingdom of Dál Fiatach and returns there a decade later to finish learning all she can from the monks about their healing practices.
When Cowan brings her a patient, injured and temporarily unable to speak, she can’t help but find the strong, tall man attractive, even if such feelings unsettle her.
Although sparks fly immediately, Agnarr’s idea of wedding Aislinn—the physician who heals him when he is injured—is hampered by many factors, including language and cultural differences. There is also the matter that he is the man who kidnapped and enslaved Charis years before.
Believing strongly that God gave Agnarr to her as a patient, though, Aislinn does her best. Her knowledge of who he is wars with her unwilling attraction to him. That he makes his interest in her clear doesn’t help, as he goes so far as to seek her father’s permission to wed her. Can she forgive him for what he did to her village? Can she love him if she does? And will she be willing to accept a life at Agnarr’s side even if he does not love her?
Meanwhile, other raiders from the North come to Éire’s green coasts. Pledging his loyalty to the new king, Muiredach of Dál Fiatach, Agnarr prepares to defend his new home.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
After enjoying the first book, Éire’s Captive Moon I thought I might as well give Éire’s Viking a try. Charis was a great character in the first book and carried the story on her shoulders, but maybe Aislinn would be just the same as her foster mother. In the end, I wasn’t disappointed.
I like how Aislinn is similar to her adopted mother in many ways and yet so different. Whereas Charis is an agnostic sort of a character, Aislinn is firmly Christian and it really shows in her day to day activities. Her belief is sincere and I love how she still keeps some of Charis’ old ways despite the disapproval of the monks in the area. So imagine Aislinn’s dilemma when Agnarr comes knocking, looking to settle in Éire peacefully. Can she forgive him for what he has done? Can she reconcile his past actions with this seemingly changed older, wiser man? And can she find it in her heart to admit that she does love him?
I’m not a big romance person when it comes to fiction, but I liked Aislinn’s and Agnarr’s relationship. There was that initial spark of attraction, then they stepped back and were sort of wary of each other and then they tried to reconcile their differences. It wasn’t a straight and narrow path to romance, but it was filled with some very realistic twists and turns. Romance is hardly ever straightforward and Sandi Layne did her readers a favour by not making it that way in fiction.
The other thing I felt was improved since the first book was the fact that we get to see some of the greater politics at work. We bring in the Danish as well as the Vikings and the Irish and I liked the subtle political maneuverings that accompanied the changing worldviews within all three countries. I can’t explain this really but I also felt much more immersed in Aislinn’s world than I did in the first book. Maybe it was the added detail, maybe it was just the change of setting but I really felt like I was there alongside the characters.
Would I call this the book of the year? Not really, but it is a pretty good book. Put it on your wish lists because it comes out on January 23, 2014.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
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Éire’s Captive Moon by Sandi Layne
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Éire’s Captive Moon, the first book of Sandi Layne’s Éire’s Viking Trilogy, brings you to the unsettled era of the early Viking raids along the coast of Éire – today’s Ireland.
A wounded refugee from the violent Viking raids on Éire’s coast is healed so well by Charis of Ragor that Agnarr captures the moon-pale woman for his own and takes her home to Nordweg to be his slave.
Also captured is Cowan, a warrior gifted with languages. He is drawn to the healer of Ragor and finds himself helpless before her. In more ways than one!
Through the winter, Charis plans a fitting vengenance upon her captor for the men he killed. She also prepares to return to Éire and the children she left behind.
But will her changing feelings interfere with these plans? When two men vie for her heart, will she give way before either – or both?
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
When I requested this book I was sure it was going to be a captive-captor love story. Books like this usually are, after all. And that was fine for me; I need some guilty pleasure. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Sandi Layne put some excellent twists into what I thought was a dead horse trope.
Charis is a great character and even though I liked Cowan as well, she of course stole every scene she was in. She’s tough but vulnerable at the same time, especially when you see her love for her twin husbands. And even though she’s taken as a slave she retains some individuality and never gives up hope for an escape. I especially liked how, at the end, you still weren’t truly sure of what course of action she would take. The ending was very much in doubt, believe me.
I know very little about Vikings or the 9th century in general, but I can tell you what little I do know says that this book is pretty historically accurate. Would an authority on the matter say the same thing? I’m not sure. But for your average person’s purposes, there is more than enough history in here to keep you immersed in Charis’ world. It’s a harsh world where the strong kill the weak with frightening regularity, but Sandi Layne’s writing does make you feel like you’re immersed in that world.
The only criticism I have about the book is that we’re introduced to a lot of characters quite quickly and everyone calls them different names. For example as far as I can tell Cowan is called “Kingson” and “Geirmundr” later on in addition to his other name. This may not sound like much, but I would have liked for a little bit of a slower pace at some points in the book so I could keep up with this information. The voyage of Cowan and Charis as captives was very quickly described and I felt there was a different need for expansion because I was still trying to gain my bearings.
In short, Éire’s Captive Moon is a pretty good book. It’s not perfect and still needs a little bit of editing, but overall I enjoyed it.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.
In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.
And Grayson has gone missing.
No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.
Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.
[Full disclosure: This was the second of two books I received in the mail from a mystery sender. As far as I am aware I am not under any obligation to review them for an author and as with every book I read, this is an honest review.]
Honestly, like The Commander’s Desire I’m still not really sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, I loved the unique mythos of the gargoyles and how they came to be gargoyles. On the other hand, the plot was rather predictable and at times oddly confusing. I could connect with some characters and not others.
I’ll start off with my favourite part: the gargoyles themselves. I’ve never been exposed to any gargoyle mythology outside of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney version) so this was a breath of fresh air for me. I feel like Page Morgan really thought out her gargoyles well and had a reasonably good explanation for how they came to exist and why they must protect their dwellings. The hierarchy within the gargoyles definitely makes sense if you look at the main types of gargoyles and grotesques in architecture as well. I really didn’t have any problems with the world-building in this one.
The time period is the turn of the century and the attitudes of the characters generally reflect it. At the same time, I felt like some of the things Ingrid did were far out of character and certainly were not acceptable for a young lady (no matter how disgraced) at the time. The way Page Morgan describes her setting immersed me in the history, but it was quite jarring to see such modern attitudes present in many of the characters. Other than that I really couldn’t spot any historical inaccuracies and the attitude problem requires only a slight suspension of disbelief.
My main problem with the book was the characters. The point of view wasn’t really consistent and sometimes I had no idea whose point of view I was reading. I wish the transition between characters was a little smoother because then I wouldn’t have been so confused when there was a lot of action going on. Some points of view even sound the same (the two sisters on occasion) so that really didn’t help the situation. Gabby was my least favourite character because she could be such a free spirit one minute and then have such prudish thoughts more in line with the time in the very next chapter. It’s that kind of inconsistency that annoys me.
All in all, I really can’t complain much about The Beautiful and the Cursed. It was relatively fast-paced and although it was confusing at times, I got the main gist of the plot. Would I read the second book in the series? Probably. I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it, but if I found it in the used section I’d certainly give the rest of the series a chance.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The Commander’s Desire by Jeanette Green
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Princess Elwytha wants revenge on the monster who murdered her brother. In a false exchange for peace, she offers herself in marriage to the enemy Prince. The plan? Kill the Prince’s battle-scarred Commander-the man who ended King Thor’s life with one filthy sword thrust through the back. To her horror, the Commander agrees to take Elwytha as his bride. Worse, the wedding date will be sooner than expected. Not all is lost, however. Now she has more opportunity to be alone with him-and exact justice. But the deed becomes difficult to carry out. Fighting her innate sense of honor, she begins to see the ironclad integrity of the man behind the scars. And with this knowledge comes doubt. Did he slay her brother? What exactly is the new king’s plan? Whom can she trust? Elwytha must decide well, for more than her life is at stake. Soon she must betray either allegiance to her kingdom-or the man who is quickly claiming her heart.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Even a week after reading The Commander’s Desire I’m still not really sure what to think of it. There were good elements and bad elements, so I might as well start with the bad.
The thing I didn’t like was the historical ambiguity. Sure, Jeanette Green set a time period for the thing but I really didn’t feel immersed in the period. It seemed like your typical quasi-Medieval TV show, if I’m honest. There were a few things that seemed true to the time period and almost made me feel like I was there, but Jeanette Green’s style of writing never really pulled me into the history and we sure didn’t get much background on the time.
I had so-so feelings about Elwytha and her relationship with the Commander. Sometimes their relationship was believable with that sort of push-pull dynamic that would come from being natural enemies. Sometimes their relationship bordered on ridiculous as Elwytha kept blowing her cover by threatening the Commander and giving him mixed signals. At times she was ready to kill him and sometimes it was like she was totally in love. I can understand the hot-cold feelings, but they were present far too often to make it believable or even for me to like Elwytha. Sure, the reader was told over and over that Elwytha was a fierce warrior on a mission but I never really got that vibe from her. She just seemed like a wannabe tough girl.
With all that said, I actually didn’t mind The Commander’s Desire. If you leave out some of the more ridiculous aspects you’re left with a generally sweet romance (if a little predictable) and a reasonably paced plot. The characters aren’t anything special, but they’re not horrible either. Basically, this is a mediocre book written in a decent enough style that if it sounds interesting to you I say give it a go! It won’t hurt.
I give this book 3/5 stars.