That's about it, really. Iggulden forgets, however, that a story needs relatable characters and there was simply none. Well, maybe with the exception of Henry VI's spy master, Derry Brewer.

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. King Henry, the Lion of England is long dead, and his son Henry VI coming of age and taking the throne in AD 1437. The tone and narrative style is straight out of standard fantasy, not historical fiction. Just substitute the names and make it some fantasy kingdom and not England/France and fantasy readers would gobble it up. La pluma del autor es muy amena, hace que se lea deprisa y sin que resulte pesado, y las descripciones son concisas. De los personajes, mis favoritos han sido Derry y Margarita. Qué maravilla de señora, estoy segura de que va a dar mucho juego en los siguientes libros, o eso espero.

By Timothée de Fombelle; translated by Sarah Ardizzone

In 2018, Penguin Books released a historical novel called The Falcon of Sparta, about the effort of Prince Cyrus to become king of Persia and the stranded 10,000 Greek mercenaries who walked out of Persia while pursued by the king's armies, following the Battle of Cunaxa. It actually pains me to give this book only 3 (1/2) stars. I wish I could give it more, because I really liked the first three books and I almost did, because it did some things that were very important to me right.

Witness the rise of the Tudors in the stunning conclusion to Conn Iggulden's powerful retelling of the Wars of the Roses. The brilliant retelling of the Wars of the Roses continues with Trinity, the second gripping novel in the new series from historical fiction master, Conn Iggulden. Escogí este libro porque me cuadraba para dos retos y ha resultado una gran sorpresa y de las buenas, no, de las mejores. Credit where credit is due, though: the writing flows quite well and some of the landscape descriptions/actions scenes are done more than competently. And the golden cover of the German edition is really, really pretty.More distracting are some of the lines uttered by the characters, particularly the over-the-top bombast of Derry Brewer and the wooden delivery of the Duke and Duchess of York. These are partially remedied by the flashes of humor injected into the drama, as they must have been even during the wars. At a critical juncture during Cade’s rebellion, a nasty, ankle-deep trudge through London’s “Shiteburn Lane” sends a young lord’s (and the reader’s) eyes rolling. Merece especial atención la semblanza que se hace del cuerpo de élite más importante de Europa durante varios siglos, hasta que las armas de fuego empiezan a ser verdaderamente efectivas: El arquero inglés portador del arco largo. Este cuerpo de arqueros decidió muchas batallas durante la Guerra de los 100 años y causaba verdadero pavor entre los caballeros acorazados franceses, ya que sus armaduras eran ineficientes y caían como moscas ante sus flechas. Estos arqueros eran cuidados con mimo, eran escasos, formar a un arquero capaz de manejar estas armas con precisión y con la cadencia de tiro infernal que alcanzaban solo se conseguía entrenando a diario y desde la infancia, de hecho un rey inglés (Eduardo I), prohibió todos los deportes salvo el tiro con arco para promover esta práctica entre sus súbditos. Cualquier pérdida de estos soldados en batalla constituía para los ingleses, siempre en minoría numérica, una pérdida irreemplazable.

Normally in traditionally told narratives (which this is), summary follows scene. That is, the in depth "feel like you're there" bits are glued together with breather space bits of things like a character's opinion of the previous scene or a revisiting of the stakes/story up to that point. Give time for the imagination to process and rest.Genghis Khan is dead, but his legend and legacy have not yet left the plains. Ogedai, his son, has built a white city on a great plain which becomes the capital of a new nation. During this time, new enemies are coming together to find out which Genghis has the strength of a Khan. But neither sees that their true enemy is Henry Tudor, now grown into a man. As the Red Dragon - 'the man of destiny' - his claim to the throne leads to Bosworth Field and a battle that will call an end to the Wars of the Roses . . . One of them is a senator’s son, who has been given everything to achieve his dream. The other is an adopted child who is cunning and strong. His love for his adoptive family and brother will be the most powerful force in his life.