Reviews

Essex Dogs by Dan Jones

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cluelessjr's review against another edition

2.0

The Essex Dogs spend 450 pages stumbling between notable events of the first campaign in the Hundred Years War, having very little impact on the story, & leaving me with the impression that they're surplus to requirements in their own book.

Attempts to build backstory for the Dogs felt superficial and clichéd, the blasphemic cursing became repetitive very quickly, and the intrigue sub-plot did little to engage my interest.

However, I enjoyed the portrayal of how horrific the life of a footman was at the time, and the description of the various melees were well paced and exciting.

macgibbons's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5/5

bryanfox's review

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adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

3.0

smo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

kanejim57's review against another edition

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4.0

A colorful and raw fictionalized account of the Edwardian phase of the Hundred Years War. Well written and detailed, both as to tactics and location, as well as in the battle scenes. From the publicity for the book this is his first foray into historical fiction. (Audio book)

corletta29's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5/5.0

The book was a bit slow at times, but the last portion really picked up action wise. The dialogue wasn’t the best I’ve seen. Dan Jones does a great job at giving the reader a less glorious perspective that was probably pretty common in medieval warfare, as he definitely portrays war as more of a grind. Interesting to see how the rest of the Dogs’ story plays out.