Friday 14 May 2010

HISTORICAL FICTION REVIEW: Honour and the Sword - A L Berridge

BOOK BLURB:

It is 1636 - the height of the Thirty Years War, one of the bloodiest and most destructive conflicts Europe has ever seen. As the campaigning season begins, the Spanish armies swell out of the Artois region of the Netherlands – flooding into King Louis XIII’s France. The sleepy border village of Dax-en-roi stands in their way. Facing the overwhelming might of the Spanish forces, the Chevalier de Roland rallies a valiant defence, but in vain – his household guard no match for the invaders. There is only one survivor as the Roland estate is razed to the ground, one soul who escapes the Spanish brutality: the lone heir to the Roland name, the son, a young boy by the name of AndrĂ© de Roland, the new Sieur of Dax . . . Upon this young nobleman’s shoulders all hope lies. He alone must bear the honour of the Roland name and, with it, the fate of his people.


REVIEW:

Readers are always looking for something a little different in the Historical Fiction genre. Whilst many will delve into Roman or the Norse what AL brings to the fore is a novel with the daring do of the Musketeers, in a modern tale that contains touches of Dumas with combat that could easily have been written by Gemmell or Cornwell. Its addictive, its beautifully researched and a tale that you’ll have a hard time to put down. Add to the mix characters that have a touch of Flashman alongside discovering that the author plays for keeps and its an offering to shout from the rooftops.

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