Wednesday 17 September 2014

HISTORICAL FICTION REVIEW: Hereward: Wolves of Rome - James Wilde

Release Date: 31/07/14
Publisher:  Bantam

SYNOPSIS:

1072 - The great battle has been lost. King William stands victorious. And for the betrayed and abandoned English rebels, the price of their crushing defeat is cruel: exile. Cut adrift from family, friends, home, their hopes of survival lie with one man, their leader Hereward. But can even that now-legendary hero navigate a safe course across a world torn by war? Their ultimate destination is the jewelled heart of the Christian emperor in the East, the New Rome - Byzantium. Here the English hope to find gold and glory by joining those pledged to protect the emperor, the elite and savage Varangian Guard. But this once-mighty empire is slipping into shadow. Beyond the vast walls, the endless Turkish hordes plan for an attack that could come at any moment. And within the sprawling city, rival factions threaten bloody mayhem as they scheme to seize the crown. Here begins a new chapter in the stirring tale of England's forgotten hero. But now the enemies are hidden, their methods bloodier, the battlefield and weapons unfamiliar and to stay alive in this cauldron of plot, betrayal and murder, Hereward and the English must fight as never before.


REVIEW:

OK, so here Hereward is out on his own away from any other ancient tales surrounding him from books that have gone before and boy, what a cracking tale we have with the hero. As usual with James’ writing the reader is in for a tale of heroics, of daring and of course action that doesn’t let up as enemies from the past merge with new foes.

Back this up with prose that just leaps into the readers imagination gives the reader a tale that will be hard to miss and if you haven’t tried the series to date, where have you been, its cracking British Heroism at its best. Magic.

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