Tag: Reading Challenges

#BookReview Treason by James Jackson 20BooksOfSummer23

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About the Book

‘Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November…’

Behind the famous rhyme lies a murderous conspiracy that goes far beyond Guy Fawkes and his ill-fated Gunpowder Plot . . .

In a desperate race against time, spy Christian Hardy must uncover a web of deceit that runs from the cock-fighting pits of Shoe Lane, to the tunnels beneath a bear-baiting arena in Southwark, and from the bad lands of Clerkenwell to a brutal firefight in The Globe theatre.

But of the forces ranged against Hardy, all pale beside the renegade Spanish agent codenamed Realm.

Format: Paperback (336 pages) Publisher: Zaffre
Publication date: 19th October 2017  Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery

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My Review

I was first introduced to this book when I took part in the blog tour back in November 2017. (The timing was not accidental.) At the time I couldn’t fit in a review, only publish an extract, and unbelievably it’s taken me nearly six years to get round to reading it. Treason is the third book in the author’s series featuring ‘intelligencer’ Christian Hardy. There are references to key events in previous books which would probably spoil your enjoyment of the first two in the series if you haven’t read them so I’d recommend either reading the series from the beginning or treat this, as I did, as a standalone. (There is a subsequent book, Cradle, an excerpt from which appears at the end of Treason.)

Christian Hardy is a bit of a James Bond figure, probably more Daniel Craig than Sean Connery by now because his first adventure (in Blood Rock) was set in 1565, his second (in Realm) was set in 1588 and Treason opens in 1591 although the main action takes place from 1604 onwards. So it seems time has been kind to him because he’s still a formidable swordsman as well as being a bit of a one for the ladies. He’s ruthless when he needs to be which, as it happens, turns out to be a lot of the time and expert in eliciting information whether that’s at the point of knife or in the bedroom. ‘Everyone had vulnerabilities and diverse motives and Hardy was the master of exploiting both. Either through desire or greed or love or fear, humans were instruments demanding to be played.’

In case this might make Hardy seem a one-dimensional action man, his life has not been without personal tragedy, mainly at the hands of a man known as Realm. He has become Hardy’s arch-enemy, if not nemesis. Realm is an utterly ruthless character who appears to get a kick out of killing. Although there are few really graphic descriptions of his actions there’s enough to give you a sense of his sadistic nature. ‘Wherever he roamed and whatever he touched, devastation seemed to result.’

Blending fiction with historical fact, Treason is a race-against-time adventure with Hardy, under the direction of Robert Cecil, seeking to unmask and frustrate the group of Catholics nobles – and the man we know as Guy Fawkes – in their plan to assassinate James I. Ah yes, Cecil. What book set in Tudor or Stuart times would be complete without one of the Cecil family? In Treason, he’s a sort of ‘M’ to Hardy’s James Bond, directing affairs from Westminster and, like a chess player, always seemingly several moves ahead of everyone else. There are also walk-on parts for other historical personages, including William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, who converse in snappy dialogue, exchanging witticisms and pithy retorts.

As we know from history, the Gunpowder plot failed and those involved met a grisly end but the author manages to introduce enough twists and breathtaking escapes from death into the story to maintain the readers interest and make Treason an accomplished historical thriller.

In three words: Action-packed, suspensful, spirited

Try something similar: Rivers of Treason by K. J. Maitland

About the Author

Sunday Times bestselling author James Jackson has written numerous historical and contemporary thrillers, including three previous Christian Hardy novels Blood Rock, Realm and Treason. He is a former political risk consultant and a postgraduate in military studies. He was called to the Bar and is member of the Inner Temple. He lives in London. (Photo: Author website)

Connect with James
Website | Goodreads

#BookReview #BlogTour The Hollow Throne by Tim Leach @HoZ_Books @AriesFiction @TimLeachWriter #TheHollowThrone

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Hollow Throne by Tim Leach. My thanks to Andrew at Head of Zeus for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy.

About the Book

180 AD. North of the Wall, Sarmatian warrior Kai and his adopted tribe, the Votadini, struggle for survival, cast into unfamiliar lands by Roman reprisals.

When news arrives that an old enemy is in charge of the Votadini’s hated foes, a confederation of tribes known as the Painted People, and has roused them to action, Kai heads south towards the Wall, hoping to ally with the Romans against this resurgent threat.

Meanwhile, the Romans have heard tales of butchery and mayhem beyond the Wall. Lucius, Legate of the North, believes it is Kai and his allies who are responsible, and sends forth an expedition to capture his old comrade.

Can Kai and his loved ones survive the onslaught – or will the combined might of Rome and the hatred of their enemies spell the end for the warrior and his tribe?

Format: Hardback (320 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 3rd August 2023 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

The Hollow Throne is the final book in The Sarmation Trilogy. Although it could be read as a standalone, The Hollow Throne has frequent references to events in the two earlier books – A Winter War and The Iron Way – so for full enjoyment I’d recommend starting from the beginning. In addition, there is so much in this final book that rests on the relationships between the main characters that have developed over the course of the series. As it happens, I haven’t read the first book, A Winter War, but I definitely intend to do so because I’m keen to learn more about the characters’ first encounters.

I’d never heard of the Sarmation people before reading The Iron Way and I suspect I wouldn’t be alone in that. Very little is known for certain about them as they left no written records and minimal archaeological evidence, other than that they were a nomadic, warlike people who travelled across the steppes of eastern Europe. However, a gap in the historical record is fertile ground for an author of historical fiction and Tim Leach has taken full advantage of this giving us a picture of a people bound together by ties of kinship but also by sacred oaths and a belief that to die in battle is glorious. And it’s not just the men who fearlessly ride into battle on their mighty steeds but the Sarmatian women too. It’s a culture in which once you’re too old to ride or wield a sword you’re expected to submit to the sword.

The book sees the return of four main characters: Sarmatian warrior Kai; his sister Laimei, known by the war name ‘the Cruel Spear’; Lucius, a Roman commander who, as a result of events in previous books, has formed strong ties with the Sarmatians; and Arite, the wife of Kai’s former friend and also briefly Kai’s lover. An old enemy returns too.

Second century Roman Britain was a dangerous time to be alive and death – violent death – was often close at hand. If you were lucky it was quick but if you weren’t it was anything but. As becomes all too clear, the fearsome Painted People are the masters of the slow death, fuelled by a messianic fervour whipped up by a ruthless and deranged leader who is the subject of the intensely dramatic Prologue.

The author brings a mystical element to the story with characters influenced by visions, dreams, legends handed down through the generations or sacred objects the possession of which can give the possessor untold power or unleash evil on the world. As Kai and his tattered band of comrades face what may be a pivotal confrontation with the Painted People he senses death all around him. ‘The land had forgotten them, but he was certain that its people had not. Ghosts seemed to watch them from every forest and bank of heather, unseen eyes clustering thick about the cairns on the hillsides, peering up from the swift-running river. It was as though an army of vengeful spirits closed about them, and what use were spears against the dead?’ But for those who crave action in their historical fiction, there’s plenty of that as well.

Being the final book in the trilogy, it’s not surprise that there is an elegaic air to it with some relationships repaired and others remaining severed forever because of betrayals and broken promises that can never be forgiven. I found some of the events towards the end of the book intensely moving, especially as the author resists the temptation to give every character a happy ending.

I found The Hollow Throne completely gripping and I can’t wait to see what Tim Leach comes up with next. In the meantime I shall be looking out my copy of A Winter War and adding to my wishlist The King and the Slave, the follow-up to The Last King of Lydia, the book that first introduced me to the author’s work.

In three words: Dramatic, immersive, gripping.

Try something similar: A Night of Flames by Matthew Harffy

About the Author

Tim Leach is a graduate of the Warwick Writing Programme, where he now teaches as an Assistant Professor. His debut novel, The Last King of Lydia, was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, and his first Sarmation Trilogy novel, A Winter War, was shortlisted for the Historical Writers’ Association Gold Crown Award.

Connect with Tim
Website | Twitter