Tag: HF Reading Challenge

Book Review – To Kill a King by David Gilman @AriesFiction @HoZ_Books

whatcathyreadnext2 Comments

About the Book

Book cover To Kill a King by David Bilman

1367. Having angered the bloodthirsty Don Pedro, King of Castile, Sir Thomas Blackstone is thoroughly sick of his mission for the Prince of Wales, but must remain true to his oath. But this is the Hundred Years’ War, and tensions are rising once more. With the Prince of Wales deeply unpopular in his Aquitainian lands, Blackstone, King Edward’s Master of War, must return to French soil to help stem the tide of support for the King of France.

Meanwhile, Henry, Blackstone’s son, faces an incognito ride across France with his own motley band of outlaws and mercenaries. But the French are aware of the younger Blackstone’s journey, and see a perfect way to target the Master of War…

Format: ebook (458 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 1st February 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find To Kill a King on Goodreads

Purchase To Kill a King from Bookshop.org (Disclosure: If you buy a book via this link, I may earn a small commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops)

My Review

To Kill a King is the eighth book in David Gilman’s ‘Master of War’ series. As is often the case, I haven’t read all the books in the series. I started with good intentions, reading the first book, The Blooding, back in 2016. It charts Thomas Blackstone’s rise from humble stonemason’s apprentice to skilled archer fighting the French at the battle of Crécy. The second book in the series, Defiant Unto Death, has been lingering on my Kindle for more years than I care to mention. Between then and now there’s been a lot of blood spilt and Blackstone has fought many battles, lost many comrades, suffered personal tragedy and defied death on numerous occasions.

It’s probably easiest if you’ve read previous books in the series but, if you haven’t – or have missed great chunks of the series like me – To Kill a King can be read as a standalone. I would suggest reading the Author’s Note to get a sense of the historical situation at the point the book opens. The list of characters at the beginning of the book will also introduce you to Blackstone’s most loyal and trusted comrades. They’ve travelled many miles together and fought many battles. ‘And where is home? For any of us? It is where we are with whom we ride. That is home…’

Blackstone’s son, Henry, has a lot to live up to, something he is intent on doing rather than continuing his studies in Oxford under the safety of an assumed name. Henry is the chink in his father’s armour (if you’ll pardon the pun), a reminder of the woman Blackstone loved and lost under tragic circumstances. There’s never been another to replace her, although some have come tantalisingly close.

You want battle scenes? You’ll get them in spades in To Kill a King: skirmish after skirmish, ambush after ambush, deadly hails of arrows and crossbow bolts, bloody close-quarter killing. ‘War hammers crushed bones… Men shrieked: pleas for clemency unheard above the cacophony of screams, whinnying horses, trumpets and drums.’ On plenty of occasions Blackstone has to rely on his ill-natured ‘bastard horse’, his trusty Wolf Sword or his sixth sense for danger to dodge death. And, if you want some really nasty villains, there are those too. In fact, if you’re a bit squeamish, you might want to skip over a few scenes.

The end of the book involves some brilliant scenes in which Blackstone proves what an unstoppable force he is, but also what he is prepared to do in order to protect his son. Will Blackstone live to fight another day? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

If you love historical fiction where the action comes thick and fast, then you’ll enjoy To Kill a King.

I received a digital review copy courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley.

In three words: Action-packed, authentic, compelling
Try something similar: Essex Dogs by Dan Jones

About the Author

Author David Gilman

David Gilman has enjoyed many careers, including paratrooper, firefighter, and photographer. An award-winning author and screenwriter, he is the author of the critically acclaimed Master of War series of historical novels, and was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for The Last Horseman. He was longlisted for the same prize for The Englishman, the first book featuring ex-French Foreign Legionnaire Dan Raglan. David lives in Devon.

Connect with David
Website | Twitter/X | Facebook

Book Review – Munich Wolf by Rory Clements

whatcathyreadnext7 Comments

About the Book

Book cover of Munich Wolf by Rory Clements

Munich, 1935 – The Bavarian capital is a magnet for young, aristocratic Britons who come to learn German, swim in the lakes and drink beer in the cellars.

What they don’t see – or choose to ignore – is the brutal underbelly of the Nazi movement which considers Munich its spiritual home.

When a high-born English girl is murdered, Detective Sebastian Wolff is ordered to solve the crime. Wolff is already walking a tight line between doing his job and falling foul of the political party he abhors. Now Hitler is taking a personal interest in the case.

Followed by the secret police and threatened by his own son, a fervent member of the Hitler Youth, the stakes have never been higher. And when Wolff begins to suspect that the killer might be linked to the highest reaches of the Nazi hierarchy, he fears his task is simply impossible – and that he might become the next victim.

Format: ebook (400 pages) Publisher: Zaffre
Publication date: 18th January 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime, Thriller

Find Munich Wolf on Goodreads

My Review

I’m a huge fan of Rory Clements’ novels. I loved his John Shakespeare historical crime series set in Elizabethan England comprising Martyr, Revenger, Prince, Traitor, The Heretics, The Queen’s Man and Holy Spy. And I absolutely adore his Tom Wilde series set in WW2 Cambridge comprising (so far) Corpus, Nucleus, Nemesis, Hitler’s Secret, A Prince and a Spy, The Man in the Bunker and The English Führer. [Related posts: Book Review – Hitler’s Secret, Book Review – A Prince and a Spy, Book Review – The English Führer]

So I came to Munich Wolf with high expectations; I wasn’t disappointed. Sebastian Wolff is, if you like, Tom Wilde’s German alter ego. Like Wilde, he has a strong sense of justice. And in the same way Wilde has his trusty Rudge Special motorcycle, Wolff has his beloved Lancia Augusta cabriolet. But in their personal lives they differ. Wolff’s barely disguised loathing for Hitler’s regime has created a breach in his relationship with his son Jurgen, who is a fervent admirer of the Führer and a member of the Hitler Youth. It’s only when an act of violence comes close to home for Jurgen that their frosty relationship thaws a little.

The book sees Wolff’s commitment to uncovering the truth come slap bang up against political interests, both domestic and international. There’s a quite complex structure of different security and police institutions, but stick with it. Given the period in which it’s set and what we now know about the dreadful acts perpetrated by the Nazi regime, it’s probably no surprise that the story goes to some dark, sinister and perverted places, places populated by fanatics. ‘Paganism, ritual murder, sex magic, the Thule Society [a German occultist and Völkisch group founded in Munich shortly after World War I], Hitler’s obsession with the occult, the runic symbol for the sun, the geblōt places of ancient Nordic sacrifices…’

In pursuing his investigation, Wolff faces personal risks but he doggedly persists resulting in confrontations with some particularly ruthless individuals and a spell in a concentration camp. He’s also hampered in his enquiries by being assigned an assistant, Sergeant Hans Winter, with whom Wolff had already had an inauspicious first meeting, and who in reality is his minder, informing his bosses in the Bavarian Political Police (the forerunner of the Gestapo) about Wolff’s movements. Things really hot up when Wolff gets a little too close to implicating some influential figures in the regime.

Real life figures abound, in particular English socialite Unity Mitford who as well as coming across as an utter snob, shows herself to be an antisemite and vile apologist for the Nazi regime.

Sebastian Wolff is a great character. He’s a man of action but the author has also given him an interesting personal hinterland. (He’s rather swoonworthy as well.) Although badged as a standalone novel, I can see Munich Wolf being the first book in a series – in fact, I’d be overjoyed if it is.

Action-packed, full of twists and turns, and with fascinating historical detail, Munich Wolf is another powerful thriller from the pen of Rory Clements. If you were a fan of the late lamented Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series, this is one for you.

In three words: Gripping, intriguing, pacy
Try something similar: March Violets by Philip Kerr

About the Author

Author Rory Clements

Rory Clements was born on the edge of England in Dover. After a career in national newspapers, he now writes full time in a quiet corner of Norfolk, where he lives with his wife, the artist Naomi Clements Wright. He won the CWA Historical Dagger in 2010 for his second novel, Revenger, and the CWA Historical Dagger in 2018 for Nucleus. Three of his other novels – Martyr, Prince and The Heretics – have been shortlisted for awards.

Connect with Rory
Website |  Twitter | Facebook