In the next corner, those irresistible Sons of York. So easy to cheer for despite their arrogance and weaknesses that eventually bring about the end of the Plantagenet dynasty. Iggulden shows us the closeness between Edward the warrior king and his devoted brother, Richard, while managing to realistically demonstrate how that could have easily evolved into self-preservation on Richard's part upon Edward's death. Edward and Richard were so well-versed in war that neither seemed to really know how to be a king of peace. Not so enamoured overall with this chapter, found it a little staid in places as we jus ground out the historical timeline........ maybe thou that’s a tad harsh seeing as its a generational series & most of my favourite characters are no more..... the author hasn’t really brought any new characters to life in this chapter which is prolly reasonable as many don’t survive long enough to be fleshed out but it does make it a little characterless at times when the main (surviving) protagonists are interacting with the non-entities..... found it more of a history lesson then political skulduggery but to be fair thats how Edward IV was, potent with a war hammer in his hand meeting out “justice” to one n all, not half the intrigue/player where peace abounds. He defo wasn’t a schemer, more a “smash yer face” in style of king! The aim of the following post is primarily to share a map of the villages, towns and lands that have been lost to the sea along the east coast of Yorkshire since the Roman period, along with some details of what is arguably the most interesting of these lost settlements, the medieval 'island town' of Ravenserodd. The post also includes some maps of the potential far-future coastlines of this region if coastal erosion and sea-level changes continue in the manner that they are expected to.

Okay, this will be short and sweet and will cover the whole series because, to be honest, there's not much of a difference between the books. With regard to the date of this 'total annihilation', the last evidence for commercial activity at Ravenserodd comes from 1358, when 'ships from Ravensrode' are mentioned as being made to carry wool from Boston to Flanders, and its final abandonment appears to have taken place by 1362, when a number of men were brought before Easington manorial court for 'throwing down and rooting up the timber of the staithes at Ravensrod', implying that the town was by then derelict.The end of the road at Aldborough, East Yorkshire, showing the continuing coastal erosion here (image: British Geological Society, used under their non-commercial licence).

However, this isn’t to overlook the first part of the novel even if the Richard section was quite literally slapped on the end. There was some great storytelling; it was up to standard and it really followed on well from the previous book. The title “Ravenspur” is a reference to Edward’s return landing onto the shores of England. It’s appropriate. The second part “Rise of the Tudors” should have been the name for the fifth book in the series, a book that should have just been about Richard III and the subsequent victory of Henry VII.

Harry Hodges (4 October 2013). "War of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden – review". Daily Express . Retrieved 22 January 2015. Historie of the Arrivall of Edward IV in England and the Finall Recoueyre of his Kingdomes from Henry VI edited by J Bruce, Camden Society, 1838 The History and Antiquities of the Conventual Church of Saint James, Great Grimsby by George Oliver (1829) In 2010, there was media coverage toward a proposed epic film Emperor: Young Caesar to be about the early life of Julius Caesar covering the years from 92 BC to 71 BC and based on the first two novels of Iggulden's Emperor series, The Gates of Rome and The Death of Kings. Exclusive Media Group hired Burr Steers to direct after they had an adaptation penned by William Broyles and Stephen Harrigan. [15] [16] [17] Bibliography [ edit ] Emperor series [ edit ] Men in small boats would row out to the incoming ships and entice them to land, often with fear of force, in an act known as ‘forestalling’.