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David McK (3687 KP) rated A Flight of Arrows (The Hundred Years War #1) in Books

Sep 17, 2023  
A Flight of Arrows (The Hundred Years War #1)
A Flight of Arrows (The Hundred Years War #1)
AJ MacKenzie | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
As an actual archer (in my case, Olympic Recurve style although I have also shot Longbow) who enjoys reading historical fiction, I thought this would be right up my street.

Especially when it was on Amazon as #1 in archery.

Unfortunately, I found it rather sluggish in parts, with it never really gripping my attention the same way as a historical novel by Bernard Cornwell or Simon Scarrow or Angus Donald does.

This is set during the early stages of the 100 Years War (which lasted for 116 years), and is really a detective/spy story (rather than concentrating on the lives of the archers) as the herald Simon Merrivale investigates the assassination of an English knight , leading up to and including the Battle of Crecy.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the history, and learning a bit more about the times and the background to the war; I just wish it had gripped me more somewhat.

Maybe the sequels will follow through on that ... ?
  
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David McK (3687 KP) rated Sword in The Storm (Rigante #1) in Books

Sep 7, 2025  
Sword in The Storm (Rigante #1)
Sword in The Storm (Rigante #1)
David Gemmell | 1998 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the first in David Gemmell's Rigante quartet of books, which is really largely a duolougy of two: the first two novels (this and Midnight Falcon in a quasi historical Scottish highlands setting, and the latter two (Ravenheart and Stormrider) set centuries on from the events of the previous novels, still in a quasi-historical Scottish highlands setting (more akin to the times of the English Civil Wars, with the first two more akin to the times of the Roman Empire)

All four novels are also largely 'coming of age' tales, with this entry following the childhood and early adulthood of Connavar, who is given the soul name "The Sword in the Storm" at this birth and who -initially, at least - grows up believing his father - who died shortly after he was born - to be a coward, despite his stepfather Ruathain (his fathers best friend) trying to convince him otherwise.

As with all of Gemmell's work, well worth a read!