Sunday, September 18, 2016

Book review: Blood of the Innocents - Michaels Jecks

Blood of the Innocents: The Vintener trilogy by [Jecks, Michael]




















Title: Blood of the Innocents

Author: Michael Jecks

FICTION

Genre: Historical

Ranking: 8.0 out of 10.0

Buy: Yes

Borrow: Yes

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0151VOGFC/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Summary:

Ten years since the battle of Crécy in 1346 and the English are still in France, laying siege to cities, towns and even small villages. Meanwhile the Prince of Wales raids across France to draw King John into a battle for sovereignty over disputed lands in France.

Berenger Fripper, captain of a company of mercenaries, move to Uzerche. his path crosses that of the Prince and his men as they embark on their chevauchée to bring death and disaster to the King of France's subjects.

Enlisted as Vintener (commander of 20) under Sir John de Sully, Berenger finds himself drawn into a new struggle. Can the English defeat the much larger French army, or will they find themselves finally defeated when their weary feet bring them at last to the field of battle near Poitiers.

Main review: 

France, 1356: Ten years have passed since the battle of Crecy, and the English fighters are still in France, laying siege to, burning and pillaging cities, towns and even small villages. They slaughter the men and boys, after raping the women, sometimes capture them to act as help behind the lines. 

Meanwhile the Prince of Wales, Prince Edward - also known as the Black Prince, raids across France to draw King John into a battle for sovereignty over disputed lands in France.

Berenger Fripper, having lost everything to the plague, is now captain of a company of mercenaries, but treachery and deceit dog him when his travels with the company lead him to Uzerche. And then his path crosses that of the Prince and his men as they embark on their latest chevauchée to bring death and destruction to the King of France’s subjects. (Note: chevauchée was a raiding method of medieval warfare for weakening the enemy, primarily by burning and pillaging enemy territory in order to reduce the productivity of a region, as opposed to siege warfare or wars of conquest.)

Enlisted as Vintener (commander of 20) under Sir John de Sully, Berenger finds himself roped into a new struggle. Can the English defeat the much larger French army, or will they find themselves finally overcome when their weary feet bring them at last to the field of battle near Poitiers.

Historically this was the second major battle, followed by the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The three forming what is known as the hundred years war.

Michaels Jecks has been renowned for his Knights Templar series featuring Sir Baldwin Furnshill and his friend Simon Puttock, bailiff of Lydford. In this third of his Vintener Trilogy, he weaves his magic taking us to a time when lives were of no real value and brutality was the norm. We could almost be there at Poitiers in the dust, sweat and gore before and during the battle, such is his power of narration.

Further reading suggestion: Blood in the Sand - http://www.michaeljecks.co.uk/sand.html

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