Stormbird: The Wars of the Roses (Book 1) (The Wars of the Roses, 1)

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Witness the rise of the Tudors in the stunning conclusion to Conn Iggulden's powerful retelling of the Wars of the Roses. I think the series has a lot of potential, but I do hope the author shifts to some new point of view characters as the war develops. Whilst I enjoyed Margaret of Anjou as a narrator, I do think he will have to move away from her as her centrality of English politics begins to diminish with the new York reign. Well, it depends how far this series goes. Also, at his point, I do hope this series ends at a strong point of the conflict because at the moment I can’t really see at what point on the timeline it could be concluded. But neither sees that their true enemy is Henry Tudor, now grown into a man. As the Red Dragon - 'the man of destiny' - his claim to the throne leads to Bosworth Field and a battle that will call an end to the Wars of the Roses . . .

Same with Jasper Tudor and Henry. Those two relationships probably were the highlight of this book to me. I also tried to look 'Wars of the Roses' up on Wiki, but it's already a struggle just trying to understand who is who, and who is fighting who, which family is involved. LOL

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The reason behind this is the aforementioned "Anjou in France" bit. See the original Plantagenets were really Angevins (literally "from Anjou". . This was an old line of powerful French noble families. Though France, during the 1100's, was not not the nation state of today. The reach of the French King wasn't too far outside Paris. Thus powerful Duchies like Anjou or Normandy had their own Lords who often rivaled the King of France's power. The Angevins sported the three golden lions rampant-a sign of their control of England, the Duchy of Normandy and the Duchy of Aquitane. Henry II, Richard the Lion Hearted and King John I were all Angevin Kings. They spoke French (Richard had a smattering of English), had extensive holdings in France and through crafty marriages had managed to become a true force. E ancora mi sfugge perché Richard, dopo che il suo amico Norfolk muore tragicamente a Bosworth, avrebbe dovuto farlo giustiziare se fosse sopravvissuto? Ma cosa cavolo ho letto?! Bah! War was a nasty thing in the 1460s, up-close and personal, and Iggulden does not spare us the horror of not only death, but of killing as well. There's a necessary sacrifice of the men on the front lines. Everybody recognizes this, and they feel kind of bad about it, but hey, they're expendable. But not the archers! God save the archers!

Iggulden poi confonde la riunione del Consiglio con il meeting nella torre, dove venne giustiziato Hastings e arrestati Morton e Rotheram (l'autore dice erroneamente che furono perdonati entrambi). Inoltre in quella stessa riunione piazza anche Stanley che era assente e che non fu arrestato o coinvolto nel complotto.VI е болнав и със слаба воля. Неспособността му да управлява голямата английска империя настройва срещу него бедни и богати. Загубата на почти всички владения във Франция е голям удар върху прословутата английска гордост и поставя горчив за англичаните край на Стогодишната война. Parts do drift, albeit very small, no doubt important details which will come to the fore later. For the most it’s an impressive tale of the War Of the Roses with the balance between narrative & battle scenes spot on unlike his later two books in the Wolf of the Plains series which turned into endless battle after battle. While this novel is purported to be about the Wars of the Roses, Mr. Iggulden has set it in the time of the fall of the English Kingdom of France in the late 1440s and the civil unrest that followed. That said he introduces many of the real life characters that rose to prominence during those wars. They include Richard of York, descended on both sides from Edward III and father of the later Yorkist Kings, the reigning King - Henry VI and his wife Margret of Anjou, and the Neville family – including the man who would become known as the Kingmaker.

That's about it, really. Iggulden forgets, however, that a story needs relatable characters and there was simply none. Well, maybe with the exception of Henry VI's spy master, Derry Brewer. For one, if you should accept this challenge (War of the Roses) then you're in it for the longhaul as this book jus stops. no cliffhangers here! I found it started very well & the opening exchanges between the factions were entertaining & incitefull as to the period & the beginnings of the War of the Roses & then well..... it got a little disjointed as no sooner you were warming to a thread/characters then it jumped elsewhere, partly related to the ongoing plot but in others (MOSTLY) I thought... not really... before it finally settled into a rythem again & focused on the central theme as opposed to a few inane tangents in the middle third of the book. So, all in all, it's a repetition of a part of history that I could have read up on Wikipedia. What did make me scoff a little was how stereo-typically the two main female characters, Magaret of Anjou and Katherine Woodeville, were portrayed. Very one-dimensional, and in Katherine Woodeville's case almost a caricature in her spite against Richard Neville, whilst Neville was the noble brother/father-figure to the three York brothers whose only mistake - and ultimate demise - was to trust them. It just underlines my opinion that history is always open to interpretation, depending on what the author/historian prefers. Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". theguardian. 7 August 2014 . Retrieved 26 August 2014. Afferma che Richard conosce il modo di fare di Derry Brewer, ma come poteva se non lo aveva mai incontrato?The battle scenes too, of St Albans & Towton, leap out from the text & the telling of the strategy is particularly impressive leaving you with a vivid picture of how it all played out. Gorefest not included, nor required as the compress the ordinary soldiers found themselves in fighting with billhooks, staffs or cleavers is chilling enough. Iggulden's debut book was The Gates of Rome, the first in a five-part series entitled Emperor. The series is based around the life of Julius Caesar, from childhood ( The Gates of Rome) to his eventual betrayal and death ( The Gods of War). The film option has been sold to Spitfire Productions (an Intermedia company). Nothing's ever easy, though, is it? You're meant to be king, and there's a pesky, weak old man (Henry VI) occupying the place of God's anointed representative on earth. Curses! The forces of Henry Lancaster and Edward York clash, most notably at Towton, the bloodiest battle on English soil. Poor Henry has lost whatever was left of his poor little mind, so it falls to his wife, Margaret of Anjou, to head the men fighting to keep the Lancasters in the palace.

And I did truly love their relationship. I could feel their love and respect for each other and a lot of scenes were saved through them for me. If there is a villain in the novel it is definitely Edward’s Queen, Elizabeth. She is portrayed as scheming and underhanded. She is not above using her influence on the King to get what she wants. That is usually displacing some Neville relative with one of her own family. The third in the trilogy on the Wars of the Roses and things are in full swing. There are battles aplenty, intrigue, great characters (and the odd despicable one) and even a wee bit of treason thrown in for good measure. De Enrique VI de Lancaster a Enrique VII, primer rey de la Disnastía Tudor en Inglaterra, constituye el convulso periodo histórico que comprende esta serie de Novelas. Fleming, Mike Jr. (26 May 2010). "Burr Steers To Direct Julius Caesar Film Based on Conn Iggulden Novels". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 26 June 2013.The introduction of the most prominent fictional character, the king’s spymaster, Derihew Brewer, can be forgiven (even if the name cannot), as Brewer is central to all of the events that take place and, as Iggulden points out, someone like Brewer would certainly have existed. Each of these players was brought to life in a way that made me wish that none of them had to die. But they did, and often with an eerie quietness that gave me chills. Instead of the big build up and dramatic death scene often found in novels, these characters died like everyone else, from a chance weapon swing or unnoticed opponent. Felled by illness or a victim of their own impetuosity, they died without false glorification. I didn't even have time to cry for them before events moved on without them.