1062, a time many fear is the End of Days. With the English King Edward heirless and ailing, across the grey seas in Normandy the brutal William the Bastard waits for the moment when he can drown England in a tide of blood. The ravens of war are gathering. But as the king’s closest advisors scheme and squabble amongst themselves, hopes of resisting the naked ambition of the Norman duke come to rest with just one man: Hereward… To some a ruthless warrior and master tactician, to others a devil in human form, Hereward is as adept in the art of slaughter as the foes that gather to claim England’s throne. But in his country’s hour of greatest need, his enemies at Court have made him outlaw. To stay alive – and a freeman – he must carve a bloody swathe from the frozen hills of Northumbria to Flanders’ fields and the fenlands of East Anglia. The tale of a man whose deeds will become the stuff of legend, this is also the story of two mismatched allies: Hereward the man of war, and Alric, a man of peace, a monk. One will risk everything to save the land he loves, the other to save his friend’s soul… When you are only a handful of pages into a novel and the title character is already running about naked – in the depths of winter – dispatching Vikings left, right and centre, I think you can rest assured that the novel you are embarking on is going to be a hell of a lot of fun. Hereward, the character, is a man of extremes. He is loyal, single minded and driven. He is also violent and dangerous, yet there is a constant internal struggle as he tries to keep his inner demons in check. When the novel begins, his first answer to any situation is “who do I have to kill to solve this”. As the novel continues, his character matures and he comes to realise that violence is not always the way. It’s nice to see a character question his own motives rather than just continue to blindly follow them. He becomes quite introspective and through this the reader gets insight into what actions and events made him the way he is. Alric, the monk, is the stabilizing force in Hereward’s life. They meet under difficult circumstances, and initially there is suspicion on both sides, but as their friendship deepens a strong bond forms. They rely on one another for support. Alric sees it as his mission in life to try and guide Hereward on a righteous path. Needless to say, this could well be the toughest job in the world. The second half of the eleventh century makes for a fertile setting. Most of Europe is a political powder-keg as various tyrants attempt to grab as much power and land as is possible. Other historical figures like Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror feature prominently. The story includes the […]
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