Essex Dogs Series
- Brand: Unbranded
Description
The book follows the Essex Dogs during their involvement in the 1346 Crécy campaign. In addition to viewing the conflict through their eyes, we also get the perspectives of renegade priests, the ever-scheming aristocrats and merchants, and the ordinary people who are caught in the conflict mostly against their will. As always, it is these ordinary people caught in the middle who bear the brunt of the abuse resulting from the fighting. If an author is going to start a historical fiction series I could think of no better era for such an endeavor than the Hundred Years War between England and France and that is what is delivered in this Essex Dogs series. The Essex Dogs are a group of medieval English soldiers for hire. In this book they are recruited by an English noble for 40 days fighting in France on behalf of King Edward III. The story is told primarily from the perspective of the common soldier in such time and in such a campaign and the telling is crude, vulgar, and assorted other unpleasant adjectives and is probably entirely accurate to the reality of war at this time. The story ends with the Battle of Crecy, the first major battle of the Hundred Years War and there are a couple of minor teases about plot threads for the probable next book but no cliffhanger ending thank God.
The Essex Dogs of the title are a small group of men-at-arms and archers who fought in the Hundred Years War between England and France as a part of King Edward III's forces. This book, I understand, is the first in a trilogy about the war that is planned by Dan Jones. Whilst we are shown the repetitive nature of warfare, Dan Jones inserts a whole variety of interactions and conflicts. We are shown the minds of those from the top to the bottom of the army, and also small scale action and the storming of castles. The sheer diversity of content in Essex Dogs is astounding, because it does not feel rushed or unbalanced. EDIT: My initial review now complained about some unexpected revelations at the very end of the story which were left hanging. This confused me as I didn’t see any indication that this book is the start of a series but I now understand it will be a trilogy. Which explains the apparently unfinished ending! Essex Dogs is a triumph. The writing is top notch, character-focused and smooth as silk to read. The combat is numbing and brutal and the dialogue is just so much fun. It is a book that you just enjoy reading, it is pure fun and something I will recommend to fantasy lovers as a great entry of historical fiction to try.
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I loved reading about each and every one of these characters. I loved the setting of this novel so much as well—it was immersive and a blast to read. The writing was direct and easy to read. My reason for not giving full marks? This is Jones’s first real fiction outing, and I think it does show sometimes. Nothing major though—I still would recommend this one to just about anyone. The many battles in this book were bloody, violently brutal, chaotic and exhausting. Frequently carried out after many days of travelling by foot, in barren landscapes and unrelenting heat. The plundered, burned out and looted towns and villages was written so atmospherically, I could almost smell the rotting stench of excrement and smouldering houses. There is some swearing between the men but there’s also a lot of humour and the one liners are truly funny. Dan Jones shows us the repetitive nature of this type of warfare, of troops marching through abandoned villages and then coming up to garrisoned castles, whilst keeping the story gripping and entertaining from start to finish. I did not envy the characters at all, but I loved following them through their journey. The soldiers' lives are rather brilliantly recreated – the kit, the fighting, the boredom and discomfort.' The Times Historian Jones’s first foray into fiction is battle-bloody, brutal and perfectly pitched. . . . Meticulously researched and vibrantly told. . . It’s a slaughterous, sweary, swaggering debut.” —The Daily Mail
I have read several books by Dan Jones and enjoyed them all. He is that rare, very rare, historian that seems to understand that if you want your books to sell then the average reader has to like them and be entertained by them. So while young Mr. Jones may be a scholar he doesn't write like one and aims for a broader audience. I guess Mr. Jones may have come to a point in his career where he has exhausted his wealth of knowledge in the area of his historic expertise and has decided to try something new. In this book Mr. Jones has clearly ventured into the cutthroat arena of commercial fiction and, though not surprisingly, into historic fiction. This book promises to be the first of a series dealing with some 14th century free booters or mercenaries, professional soldiers but not like we would use that term today. I am giving the book 3 stars as it is a good book with promise but there is a difference between writing good history and good fiction and especially if the fiction is historical fiction. Mr. Jones will need to prove himself before I rate him higher in the fiction field. I know Dan as a historian through his non-fiction books and documentaries, but this is his first foray into historical fiction. And what a debut it is. The writing and storyline are top notch and the language used is authentic to the times; which is not always the case with some historical fiction. Dan Jones is a historian who writes about the Middle Ages; he’s written a book on the Crusades amongst others. He has also been discovered by TV and has fronted a few history programmes. However to give you an example of his current oeuvre he is currently presently Sex: A bonkers history for SKY with Amanda Holden!! Enough said.
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We have a cast that really shows the chasm between the classes of society. Essex Dogs really is a character-driven story that focuses on how our main figures react and evolve to the situations around them. Some are scared, some take joy in the thrill, some are there just for the money. But most of all, the Essex Dogs are there for each other. To keep each other alive and above all, survive at all costs. This is the heart of the story that keeps you emotionally engaged amongst all the brutality, all the horrors of war and all the injustices we are exposed to as the reader. Dan Jones again in my opinion expertly manages to create the tone and atmosphere perfect for what it appears he was trying to achieve. Dan Jones' first fiction novel is a timeless, incredibly engaging and sweeping odyssey of the summer of 1346 - one that is full of bloodshed and hilarious, medieval cursing.
Dan Jones brings his extensive knowledge of this history into play expertly. It would be so easy for one with such grasp on the era to overload the reader with information. Instead, Jones smoothly crafts the tone and atmosphere in a way that by the end feels so authentic and comprehensive, yet does not overwhelm you once. It is a fine line, but Dan Jones appears to have found it effortlessly. An historical fiction that I was initially attracted to by the title, as most of my in-laws live in the county of Essex, now an overflow area popular with Londoners looking to live outside the conurbation. Not quite as superficial as this maybe. I saw the author is a famed historian and the medieval period covered here provides the framework for so much ‘sword and sorcery’ fantasy. This is set in 1346 during the Hundred Years War and involves an English army landing in Normandy in the weeks prior to the battle of Crecy. The novel follows a group of men from Essex known as the Essex Dogs. There is a great deal of earthy Anglo-Saxon language often interlinked with some rather colourful religious imagery. So not for the easily offended. Jones had the idea for a novel about a group of men at war. The story goes that Jones was having dinner with George R R Martin when the idea took shape. So are there shades of Game of Thrones? Especially as Game of Thrones has also been compared to The Hundred Years War. Well, there are some comparisons, but this doesn’t have complexity or the range.
Reviews
This book disappointed me so much that I made a goodreads account specifically to review it. I am a lover of Dan Jones’ non-fiction work, and was excited to read his foray into fiction. I was dismayed to find that unfortunately his skills do not lie in this area.
- Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
- EAN: 764486781913
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