Thursday 22 August 2013

HISTORICAL FICTION REVIEW: The Kings Exile - Andrew Swanston

Release Date: 01/08/13
Publisher:  Bantam

SYNOPSIS:

Spring, 1648. When Thomas Hill, a bookseller living in rural Hampshire, publishes a political pamphlet he has little idea of the trouble that will follow. He is quickly arrested, forced on a boat to Barbados and condemned to life as a slave to two of the island's most notoriously violent brothers. In England war has erupted again, with London under threat of attack. When news of the king's execution reaches the island, political stability is threatened and a fleet commanded by Sir George Ayscue arrives to take control of the island for Cromwell. The threat of violence increases. Thomas finds himself witness to abuse, poison, rape and savage brutality. When a coded message from Ayscue to a sympathiser on the island is intercepted, Thomas is asked to decipher it. A disastrous battle seems inevitable. But nothing turns out as planned. And as the death toll mounts, the escape Thomas has been relying on seems ever more unlikely.


REVIEW:

The second book in this series and one that continues to build upon the success of The King’s Spy. As with the original its wonderfully written, the background wonderfully rich and when added to a writing style that really does bring the time period to the modern reader all round gives you a story to sit back and savour.

Add to the mix some great prose, a wonderful turn of phrase and of course a lead character that readers will love to spend time with all round generates a story that is an absolute joy to read,. Throw into this that is the second novel in a trilogy and one that gives the readers just as much flavour alongside enjoyment as the original alongside building upon its foundations and for me, it means that the third part is going to be explosive.

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