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Book Review: 1066 What Fates Impose by GK Holloway.

 

 

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/1066-Impose-G-K-Holloway/dp/1783062207/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Matador (11 Nov. 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1783062207
ISBN-13: 978-1783062201

The book is simply designed, with a red cover, and yellow and white writing and a round Saxon shield taking the place of the 0 in 1066.

The Saxon Saga and the legend of King Harold holds a strong place in the hearts of many English. This spirit is very well captured in “1066 What Fates Impose” by G.K. Holloway. In which the epic tale of the Norman conquest is retold through, principally the eyes of its English participants. Harold Earl of Wessex rises to power in England under King Edward the Confessor. The country is in turmoil as Harold’s family struggles to keep hold of its hard fought position in the kingdom, while Edward falls under the influence of cunning Norman expatriates.
Harold strides majestically through the turmoil to become the last Saxon King of England. Confident, capable and intelligent but too quick to trust. Meanwhile in the shadows the sinister form of Duke William, who sallies out from his brooding castles, to ravage his neighbours, while planning conquest, plots his downfall. He increasingly begins to loom closer and closer as the book goes on, until the fateful first confrontation when Harold falls foul to his startling ambition and interestingly a deft deployment of doped mushrooms. The interesting twists and turns that allowed William to be able to start pulling the strings that brought about the conquest are well done.
As Harold is the hero, William inevitably becomes the villain. Here we see a tough and resourceful soldier, an ambitious and cunning politician who hides deep set insecurities within himself, and exhibits its a touch of the sadist in his personality.
For those of you who have never read about the Norman Conquest I won’t give away how the story ends, but the stage has now been set.
Holloway gives a meaty chunk of backstory to lay his foundations, which will be interesting for people as usually it’s only the history books that go back this far in terms of 1066. Perhaps a little more light and shade would have been welcome, but one cannot look at the Saxon perspective without making them the enemy. Historical fiction is after all a way to explore points of view. This therefore is definitely a book for the Saxon fans out there and those who wish to gobble up as many books about a certain subject as possible, for these people this will be a must read. He wastes no time in diving into things with an atmospheric and detailed narrative, which presents Harold as attempting to wrest his destiny back from what Fate it seems has imposed on him.

Josh.

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Farthest South: Part 2.

The Journey to Meroe.
In AD 62 Nero sent two Praetorian Centurions to Egypt to explore the Nile, and scout out the land for possible conquest. They arrived in Egypt and gathered a small, well equipped expedition, kitted out with military equipment from local Legion bases and hired civilian boats to carry them, and guides to lead the way. Thus prepared they set off on the journey to Meroe.

Continue reading “Farthest South: Part 2.”

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Book Review: Waterloo 1815 (3) Mont St Jean and Wavre by John Franklin

Detail, depth and clarity have been the hallmarks of John Franklin’s Waterloo series so far. The Campaign branch of the Osprey Publishing catalogue, proving to be a excellent vessel to carry concise and modern appreciations of the battle. The 3rd Volume met all my expectations, with the same level of quality seen in the previous the other two. And indeed vindicates many of the judgements made about them, I was personally very gratified to see, as I expected, the loose ends tied up.
The visual element in my opinion is also carried through, with many little known images appearing, and superb full colour artwork from Gerry Embleton, the highlight of which is the gripping third painting of the Prussian artillery coming into action.
Many fuzzy elements of Waterloo are handled in a logical and systematic manner, timings are important in the telling of the engagement and this lays out the action excellently, taking into account often overlooked facets, such as how long it takes a large body of troops to march to a point and deploy.
The tired controversy of who won or why the French lost is happily omitted here. This book and the others are concerned primarily with the military conduct of the campaign, rather than the motives behind different events. The language Franklin uses to describe the armies of Wellington and Blücher, is coalition, and that is how it should be done. What ifs are mercifully ignored, therefore this account of the battle, is clear and as usual when reading Franklin, even handed, showing us the when and the where. Due to clever management of space, the Battle of Wavre is squeezed in at the end without having to compensate in detail, shedding a spotlight on this much overlooked engagement which had such a decided affect on the rest of the campaign in Belgium.

All in all it offers the final word to the previous volumes & is an excellent and informative read, which I have personally found an invaluable and handy resource.