I thought this book was historical fiction writing at its best. War of the Roses: Margaret of Anjou is the middle book of Conn Iggulden's trilogy and it is outstanding. It can be read as a stand alone and is really much better than the first one of the series. Iggulden's expertise is writing about battles and making them come alive as he did on his excellent Genghis Khan series. You won't find the romantic scenes of Phillipa Gregory's much inferior series on the same subject. The brilliant retelling of the Wars of the Roses continues with Trinity, the second gripping novel in the new series from historical fiction master, Conn Iggulden.

The armies of Rome are forced to fight against each other lead by two greatest generals the empire has ever had. Julius will be closing on to his destiny which will be determined by two things; his best friend Marcus Brutus and Cleopatra, an Egyptian queen who will bear his son… The Blood of Gods It’s been said that Game of Thrones is the Wars of the Roses written as fantasy: this is the real thing, more glorious [and] more passionate.”—M. C. Scott, author of Rome: The Emperor’s Spy This novel carries on from where the first one left of; Henry is still in his stupor, Calais is the last English foothold in France and Richard Duke of York is lord protector. Both sides of the war, York and Lancaster, are portrayed creating a complete picture of the turbulent times. I guess I was expecting more? I read from someone that ito it was his best book to date whilst others haven't like it at all. Me - It's a slow burner for sure & like a fire it fizzles & spits occasionally & then on goes a big log..... will it take & blaze away OR will it jus fizzle out.....? King Henry VI is still held prisoner. His Lancastrian queen, Margaret of Anjou, rides south with an army of victorious northerners, accompanied by painted warriors from the Scottish Highlands. With the death of York, Margaret and her army seem unstoppable.

Success!

Although much of the action takes place among the lords and soldiers throughout parts of London, Kent, and France, Margaret is the revelation here. Gone is the “She-Wolf of France,” the misogynistic title bestowed upon the queen after decades of uncontested propaganda by the Yorkists. Escogí este libro porque me cuadraba para dos retos y ha resultado una gran sorpresa y de las buenas, no, de las mejores.

What is to follow is an very intriguing and marvellous tale of Kingship, power, loyalty, treachery and death, and in this circumstances King Henry VI must somehow seem to survive, and although supported by his very strong wife Queen Margaret, this King due to his ill health, he will feel the strain and hardships of being a King, resulting in his downfall. In telling his story, the author has created a couple of fascinating fictional characters. The first is Derry Brewer, who is the King’s spymaster and all around fix it man. His sole desire is to serve the king and accomplish the King’s desires no matter what it costs the Kingdom in general or him personally. Another gripping character is Thomas Woodchurch, an English settler in the county of Maine and an old companion of Derry. Mr. Iggulden uses these two characters to illustrate what the loss of England’s French possessions cost the common man. Conn Iggulden was interviewed by Mariella Frostrup for the BBC programme 'Open Book' recently and said, "The wonderful thing about historical fiction is it has to entertain and inform." Stormbird is the first in his new series about the Ward of the Roses and certainly achieves both. Credit where credit is due, though: the writing flows quite well and some of the landscape descriptions/actions scenes are done more than competently. And the golden cover of the German edition is really, really pretty. La pluma del autor es muy amena, hace que se lea deprisa y sin que resulte pesado, y las descripciones son concisas. De los personajes, mis favoritos han sido Derry y Margarita. Qué maravilla de señora, estoy segura de que va a dar mucho juego en los siguientes libros, o eso espero.Preston, John (22 May 2009). "Conn Iggulden: addicted to heroism". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 19 April 2018. Witness the rise of the Tudors in the stunning conclusion to Conn Iggulden's powerful retelling of the Wars of the Roses. Merece especial atención la semblanza que se hace del cuerpo de élite más importante de Europa durante varios siglos, hasta que las armas de fuego empiezan a ser verdaderamente efectivas: El arquero inglés portador del arco largo. Este cuerpo de arqueros decidió muchas batallas durante la Guerra de los 100 años y causaba verdadero pavor entre los caballeros acorazados franceses, ya que sus armaduras eran ineficientes y caían como moscas ante sus flechas. Estos arqueros eran cuidados con mimo, eran escasos, formar a un arquero capaz de manejar estas armas con precisión y con la cadencia de tiro infernal que alcanzaban solo se conseguía entrenando a diario y desde la infancia, de hecho un rey inglés (Eduardo I), prohibió todos los deportes salvo el tiro con arco para promover esta práctica entre sus súbditos. Cualquier pérdida de estos soldados en batalla constituía para los ingleses, siempre en minoría numérica, una pérdida irreemplazable.