Historical Fiction

The Black Tower

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The Black Tower

The Black Tower

By Louis Bayard

William Morrow

ISBN: 978-0-06-117350-9

3.5 stars

What happened to Louis the Seventeenth, the young Dauphin of France? A child when he and his family were taken prisoner by the French people, his body was never identified after his death was announced. In 1818, years after his supposed death, the monarchy has been restored but the city is still tense and citizens unsure of their new rulers.

Hector Carpentier is a medical student living with his mother and the borders they share their house with when Vidocq, a well-known and well-feared detective, approaches him on his way home one afternoon asking why a dead man had his name. Hector has no answers and Vidocq wants them. He drags him along on his investigation, disguising him when necessary, and pulling him deeper into the mysterious disappearance of the young Dauphin. When a young man is found who may indeed be the true Dauphin, Hector is torn between finding the truth and wanting to protect the terrified and simple man.

I don’t read many mysteries but I found this one to be rather satisfying. I didn’t care as much for the characters as I did the setting here though. I like stories from this time period and anything where Marie Antoinette is featured. She doesn’t play a big part here, it’s more her memory, but I found the mystery surrounding the events of those times appealing.

Vidoq is a great detective character. He’s a former criminal and part of a new plain clothes police division in Paris. He obeys no rules, is uncouth, and terrifying in his means. Torture has no negative connotations and he feels liberal use is what is called for when dealing with criminals. He’s not a likable person, although he has his moments, but he does add a dark and unsuspecting air to the story.

If you’re looking for a quick, entertaining read, The Black Tower works. It moves fast, the setting is interesting, and the characters are engaging.

The Wild Hunt

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The Wild Hunt

The Wild Hunt

By Elizabeth Chadwick

St. Martin’s Press

ISBN: 0-312-06491-8

3.75 stars

Guyon, Lord of Ledworth, is told by the king that he will be marrying. His future wife, Judith of Ravenstow, is a child and he’s none too happy with the arrangement which will make him an Earl and a pawn to keep an evil treacherous man from clutching more land and power.

Guyon is loathe to leave the mistress he’s been with for a number of years but they both know it can go no further with his impending marriage. Reluctantly, they part and he finds himself married to a willful and terrified Judith, who having been traumatized by her father’s beatings and brutality, is scared of him and what he might do to her. She is a skilled healer and capable of running a strict household but innocent and helpless when it comes to her husband. Guyon treats her with nothing but kindness and the two become less tense around each other. The war deposits several tragedies at their feet and Guyon and Judith grow closer and find a true love that neither thought was possible.

I’ve been wanting to read The Greatest Knight by Chadwick but my library doesn’t have it. I found this one on the shelf and was pleasantly surprised by it. I was a bit annoyed by Judith — who while headstrong and competent, she’s also young and inexperienced. She doesn’t want Guyon to herself but she also wants no one else to have him. Guyon, on the other hand, is quite likable and the relationship between the two becomes more tolerable and even compelling by the middle of the book.

Chadwick does a great job with characters, even the ones you don’t like. They are all very genuine and the story, while nothing new — war over land, drunken lords, raping, pillaging, etc. — it feels different and slightly exciting. I’m going to be picking up more of her books in the future.

Into the Path of Gods

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Into the Path of Gods

Into the Path of Gods

By Kathleen Cunningham Guler

Bardsong Press

ISBN: 0-9660371-0-3

3 stars

Marcus ap Iorwerth is a spy in 5th Century Britain working to free his people and help the rightful ruler of Britain take his place. On one of his missions, he meets Claerwen, a woman who has visions of the future, and is being hunted by a man who believes she holds the key to a mythical treasure.

Claerwen was promised to a man named Drakar. He’s a cruel and brutal person and she refuses to agree to the marriage arranged by her mother. To avoid the marriage, she runs away with her cousin Grania. In time, their paths cross with Marcus. He helps put the two women into a convent to keep them safe from Drakar who is hunting them relentlessly believing that Claewen knows where a legendary treasure is buried. When Draker is killed, Marcus and Claerwen feel it is safe to profess their love and marry, but he carries on with his spying dragging them deeper into the mystery of the treasure and putting their lives in danger.

This book moved a bit slow for me in the beginning but did speed up in the end. It seemed every time Claerwen turned around, she was in trouble. She didn’t always want rescuing and did her best to help herself but, all the same, Marcus seemed to be there when needed. The relationship between Claerwen and Marcus was fairly genuine, although Grania was like nails on a chalkboard. Very, very annoying. I did find some of the dialogue awkward and the use of the word awesomely through me off completely for a few pages. I don’t know, but I somehow don’t think 5th Century Britains were using the word awesomely but I could be wrong.

Into the Path of Gods is the first book in the Macsen’s Treasure series. There are four books in all. Being the series lover that I am, I wouldn’t be surprised to find myself reading a few more of the books. While it was a bit awkward in places, I found it mildly entertaining and a fast read once I got past the first few chapters.

I won this book through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway.

Heretic

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Heretic

Heretic

By Bernard Cornwell

HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN: 0-06-053049-9

4 stars

Heretic is the final book in the Grail series by Cornwell. It picks up where Vagabond left off.

Thomas is fighting in Calais when he decides to continue his search for the Grail. He takes a small band of mercenaries to France where he believes his cousin, who is also hunting the Grail, may be and captures a small village. He rides out looting neighboring settlements attempting to lure his cousin to him. Once again, a woman becomes the root of his troubles.

On taking over the village, he pardons a woman being held captive in the castle who was named a heretic by the local priests and refuses to burn her at the stake. He falls for her, and so does one his men who is also a good friend, and it becomes a dividing point between the two. Before he has the opportunity the fight his cousin, he’s fighting his own men and being cast out as a heretic himself. It’s devastating for him but he still doesn’t give up the search, wondering about god’s plan and his own place in the world.

I flew through this book. For some reason, I needed to know what happened to Thomas. During this series, he gets captured several times, hung, tortured, becomes a leader, falls in and out of love, loses his faith, and finds it again. While I did feel a tinge of sorrow for him, he didn’t let you down. He was so driven to find his cousin and keep him from the Grail and, while his quest was single minded, he wasn’t and that made him very likable.

This book, as with all three in this series, is violent. Deaths are described in graphic detail as well as a few torture scenes. It’s not for the fainthearted. If you’re the type of reader that will skip disturbing scenes, that might not work in this book. You’d end up skipping so much that you’d miss a good portion of the book. It’s these battles and hard to read scenes that make these characters as good as they are. Cornwell has a way with warfare — it’s very real, sad, dirty, and disgusting. It does make the series what it is though.

Vagabond

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Vagabond

Vagabond

By Bernard Cornwell

HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN: 0-06-621080-1

4 stars

Vagabond is the second book in the Grail series by Cornwell. It picks up after the final battle in The Archer’s Tale.

Thomas, an archer in the English army, is searching for the Holy Grail. He’s not sure if he believes it exists, and his friend and traveling companion, Father Hobbes, keeps reminding him of the promise he made to his dying father which involved another holy relic.

Most of France is under siege by the English and it’s not safe to be traveling for Thomas, Father Hobbes, and Eleanor, Thomas’s soon to be wife. They run into a band of English soldiers who are very interested in the treasure he is seeking. He soon finds himself back in an archer line and, during the battle, both Father Hobbes and Eleanor are killed by another group seeking the Grail. Wrought with grief, he finds new determination. He plans on hunting down the ruthless murderers and exacting revenge for Eleanor’s life.

I liked The Archer’s Tale, the first in the series, but didn’t get into it much. Vagabond moved much faster for me and I began liking Thomas instead of feeling sorry for him. There was still a lot to feel sorry for, but he becomes stronger and more determined which made him much more likable.

It’s a true quest book. Thomas is forever walking somewhere and somehow always seems to find himself in an archer line. He gets closer to the Grail with each fight and deals with an enormous amount a guilt along the way. People around him constantly die and you expect him to give up at any moment.

It’s a violent story. The life of an archer and man-at-arms is not clean, fun, or healthy but it makes for good reading. Cornwell has a way of clearly and very realistically describing battles, sword fights, and the damage an English bow can do. It’s not for the squeamish.

The Archer’s Tale

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The Archer's Tale

The Archer’s Tale

By Bernard Cornwell

HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN: 0-06-621084-4

3.75 stars

Thomas is protecting the Treasure of Hookton, a holy relic, on the eve of Easter when his English village is attacked by the French. The place is ransacked, men murdered, women raped and kidnapped, homes burned, and everything worth stealing, stolen, including the Treasure. In an attempt to save his home, Thomas takes up his bow against the invaders. A son of a priest, Thomas promises his dying father to bring the relic back. He also silently swears to avenge his death.

He soon finds himself in the English army marching through France. Smart and very skilled with his bow, he rises fast among the archers. His conscience, in the form of a friend and fellow soldier named Father Hobbes, keeps reminding him of his promise to his father and his god, which Thomas would rather forget. Unfortunately for Thomas, his road to redemption is not easy. He runs afoul of a knight, and in an effort to help a lady, finds himself hanged. He survives and once again finds himself an archer only this time facing enemies he didn’t know he had and a large French army wanting very much to kill him.

The last month, every book I checked out of the library was set in the 14th Century. It was all coincidence but I’m enjoying the setting.

This is my fifth Cornwell novel this year. I like his writing, enjoy the characters immensely, and like the action, which in some way is always attached to an army. While I liked this book, I didn’t like it as much as the others I read. No reason really, just didn’t get into it as much.

Thomas is an engaging character but I felt bad for him the entire time. His family was killed, home wrecked, a friend constantly reminds of any bit of guilt he might feel, and he’s not so lucky with the ladies. There is a good villain though, Sir Simon, who has it out for Thomas and a few other characters which make it interesting. There’s a lot of information and characters in this book that will obviously feature heavily in the sequel so I’m looking forward to Vagabond to tie up a few loose ends.

Nefertiti

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Nefertiti

Nefertiti

By Michelle Moran

Three Rivers Press

ISBN: 978-0-307-38174-3

4 stars

Following the death of the Crown Prince Tuthmosis, Amunhotep IV takes the throne. His mother, Queen Tiye, fearful of his temper and rash behavior, wants a wife who will be able to control him. She believes her niece Nefertiti is that woman. Nefertiti is cunning, cruel, sweet, loving, manipulative, and so ambitious that she drips with it. Of course she shows none of this to the Queen mother and when the marriage is arranged, her family becomes one of the most powerful in Egypt.

Shortly after their marriage, Nefertiti and Amunhotep, who soon changes his name to Akhenaten to worship his god Aten, begin planning their dream city, Amarna. They drain the treasury and take soldiers away from the borders to build, ignoring the warnings of vizers who tell the couple they are putting Egypt in danger. Nefertiti is desperately trying to hold onto her husband who is slipping further into his own world and desperately hoping to give birth to a son. Slowly, the city and their dreams begin to crumble. In a flash, their life and the new Egypt that Nefertiti and her husband were building falls, leaving Egypt in peril.

The story is told through Mutnodjmet’s eyes, Nefertiti’s sister. She’s a kind, loving, and very loyal friend to her sister but never one for ambition. She’s the voice of reason that Nefertiti doesn’t listen to but she’s the one you instantly like. Nefertiti is cunning and a hard person to pin down which makes her incredibly interesting but I can’t imagine the story told by her. Moran makes Nefertiti so intriguing that you almost need the story to be told by Mutnodjmet to be able to take it all in.

This is such an interesting time period in Egypt’s history and Moran does it justice. The court, the people, and the descriptions are wonderful. Moran is definitely one of my new favorite authors and I’m looking forward to her next book.

Kristin Lavransdatter: I The Bridal Wreath

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Kristin Lavransdatter: I The Bridal Wreath

Kristin Lavransdatter: I The Bridal Wreath

By Sigrid Undset

Vintage Books

ISBN: 0-394-75299-6

2.5 stars

Set in 14th Century Norway, Kristin Lavransdatter is a medieval love story. Kristin is the daughter of Lavrans and Ragnfrid and is well-loved and a bit spoiled by her father. For years, the family lives a quiet life in their small village going about their daily routines. When Ulvhild, the much beloved second daughter of Lavrans and Ragnfrid is injured, their life is turned upside down and many years pass before the family begins to recover.

In time, a third daughter is born to the couple, Ramborg, and Kristin begins preparing for her marriage to Simon Andressön. Kristin doesn’t show much interest in marriage but knows her father found her a good match even if Simon is someone she is not interested in — physically, emotionally, or intellectually. Her father and Simon agree that Kristin needs to experience the world at large, and she is put into a convent the year before her marriage. While there, Kristin falls in love with Erlend Nikulaussön, a man of her family’s caliber but not one in good standing with the community. Shortly before her marriage to Simon is to take place, she musters the courage to break off the engagement only to be told by her father that he will not allow her to marry Erlend. Years pass before the two are able to marry but somehow it doesn’t feel happy.

The entire time I was reading I kept wondering if it was the translation. It felt awkward and clunky and I had to go back a few times to reacquaint myself with some people and places. It was also very slow moving. Years pass where nothing much happens but somehow I keep reading. It wasn’t the characters that held my interest though — it was the setting. I haven’t read many books set in Norway and I found the lifestyles and small details of life intriguing.

I didn’t really care for Kristin. She seemed vapid to me, caring only about one thing — Erlend. She almost ruined her family by calling off her marriage, and yet, when she got what she wanted, she didn’t seem to be able to appreciate it. She spends her days before the wedding moping around and pining for something else as is she doesn’t really understand what marriage is about. She has very romanticized notions of life and when reality sets in, she panics and feels sorry for herself. I actually wanted to feel sorry for her but couldn’t. Her mother was much the same way and in the end I came to dislike both of them. I also didn’t like the way her life was decided for her but it was the 14th Century and women didn’t make decisions about their own lives. This is something I find I need to remind myself of when reading historical fiction sometimes.

My library has all three books but I don’t know yet if I will continue reading the story. It felt too much like a history lesson for me. Character wise, I didn’t find it a fulfilling read either. Maybe next year.