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hmalagisi's review against another edition
5.0
The Wars of the Roses is often remembered for the battles that were fought in England. Bosworth. Towton. Barnet. Tewkesbury. These battles and the names of the men and women like Richard III, Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI, Richard Duke of York, Edward IV and the Tudors are etched into the history of England. However, what started this conflict was not on the battlefield, it was inside the English Court. The decisions of a few men led to revolts that swept throughout England. So what was life like during this tumultuous time in English history? That is one of the questions that Conn Iggulden wanted to explore in his book series, “Wars of the Roses”. The first book in the series is called “Stormbird” and it explores the time after Henry VI marries Margaret of Anjou as well as Cade’s Rebellion, which wanted to tear England apart.
Conn Iggulden begins his book with the death of Edward III and his sons around his bedside, wondering what would happen to their beloved England. The sons of Edward III would become the patriarchs of some of the most important houses during the Wars of the Roses, York, and Lancaster. The story truly begins 66 years after the death of Edward III and young Henry VI is on the throne. Henry needed a truce with France and it was up to men who he could trust to make sure this happened. One of these men was William de la Pole, Duke of Somerset. The other, at least in “Stormbird”, was Henry VI’s spymaster Derihew “Derry” Brewer. Derry Brewer is a unique and complex character who works in the shadow to make sure that his king and his country are well protected. That includes arranging a marriage between Henry VI and the young Margaret of Anjou.
Margaret is portrayed as a caring and loving wife to Henry VI who will do anything to make sure her husband is taken care of and their young son is strong. Their marriage seems happy, however, there are those who live outside the royal court who are suffering. With a weak leader and men who help the king lead making things worse, the common people take it the hardest and they decide to do something about it. Led by a man named Jack Cade, the Cade’s Rebellion decides to march on London to overthrow the government.
In his Author’s Note, Conn Iggulden explains why he decided to focus a lot of his book to the riots and unrest in England:
Historical fiction sometimes involves filling in the gaps and unexplained parts of history. How is it that England could field fifty thousand men for the battle of Towton in 1461, but was able to send only four thousand to prevent the loss of Normandy a dozen years earlier? My assumption is that the unrest and riots in England put such a fear into the authorities that the major armies were kept at home. Jack Cade’s rebellion was only one of the most serious uprisings, after all. Rage at the loss of France, coupled with high taxes and a sense that the king was weak, brought England close to complete disaster at this time. Given that Cade breached the Tower of London, perhaps the court and Parliament were right to keep soldiers at home who could have been used to good effect in France. (Iggulden, 479).
“Stormbird” is a fantastic first book for Conn Iggulden’s “Wars of the Roses” series. It is filled with tons of battle scenes and intrigue. There were quite a few scenes where the amount of gruesome details made me cringe, but I wanted to read more. Iggulden was able to make this time before the actual Wars of the Roses come alive. Seeing both sides of the unrest, the commoners and those who served the king, really was intriguing. This was my first time reading a book by Conn Iggulden and I loved it. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and to see how he approaches the Wars of the Roses. If you want a great historical fiction book that is engaging about the unrest in England before the Wars of the Roses, I highly recommend “Wars of the Roses: Stormbird” by Conn Iggulden.
Conn Iggulden begins his book with the death of Edward III and his sons around his bedside, wondering what would happen to their beloved England. The sons of Edward III would become the patriarchs of some of the most important houses during the Wars of the Roses, York, and Lancaster. The story truly begins 66 years after the death of Edward III and young Henry VI is on the throne. Henry needed a truce with France and it was up to men who he could trust to make sure this happened. One of these men was William de la Pole, Duke of Somerset. The other, at least in “Stormbird”, was Henry VI’s spymaster Derihew “Derry” Brewer. Derry Brewer is a unique and complex character who works in the shadow to make sure that his king and his country are well protected. That includes arranging a marriage between Henry VI and the young Margaret of Anjou.
Margaret is portrayed as a caring and loving wife to Henry VI who will do anything to make sure her husband is taken care of and their young son is strong. Their marriage seems happy, however, there are those who live outside the royal court who are suffering. With a weak leader and men who help the king lead making things worse, the common people take it the hardest and they decide to do something about it. Led by a man named Jack Cade, the Cade’s Rebellion decides to march on London to overthrow the government.
In his Author’s Note, Conn Iggulden explains why he decided to focus a lot of his book to the riots and unrest in England:
Historical fiction sometimes involves filling in the gaps and unexplained parts of history. How is it that England could field fifty thousand men for the battle of Towton in 1461, but was able to send only four thousand to prevent the loss of Normandy a dozen years earlier? My assumption is that the unrest and riots in England put such a fear into the authorities that the major armies were kept at home. Jack Cade’s rebellion was only one of the most serious uprisings, after all. Rage at the loss of France, coupled with high taxes and a sense that the king was weak, brought England close to complete disaster at this time. Given that Cade breached the Tower of London, perhaps the court and Parliament were right to keep soldiers at home who could have been used to good effect in France. (Iggulden, 479).
“Stormbird” is a fantastic first book for Conn Iggulden’s “Wars of the Roses” series. It is filled with tons of battle scenes and intrigue. There were quite a few scenes where the amount of gruesome details made me cringe, but I wanted to read more. Iggulden was able to make this time before the actual Wars of the Roses come alive. Seeing both sides of the unrest, the commoners and those who served the king, really was intriguing. This was my first time reading a book by Conn Iggulden and I loved it. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and to see how he approaches the Wars of the Roses. If you want a great historical fiction book that is engaging about the unrest in England before the Wars of the Roses, I highly recommend “Wars of the Roses: Stormbird” by Conn Iggulden.
morcades's review against another edition
3.0
Ficción histórica de lectura cómoda y ritmo brioso. Es una buena introducción a la Guerra de las Dos Rosas y una puesta en contexto interesante para la Guerra de los Cien años. Los personajes están un pelín estereotipados, pero siendo personajes históricos ¿quién es el estereotipo?
Y no olvidemos, que este conflicto fue la inspiración de Martin para crear Juego de tronos: York contra Lancaster ¿O Stark contra Lannister?
Entretenido, recomendable.
La contra: Me he quedado sin lectura para el viaje de vuelta. Snif.
Y no olvidemos, que este conflicto fue la inspiración de Martin para crear Juego de tronos: York contra Lancaster ¿O Stark contra Lannister?
Entretenido, recomendable.
La contra: Me he quedado sin lectura para el viaje de vuelta. Snif.
ihavenouseforit's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
collinwillis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
eososray's review against another edition
2.0
I rushed right through Stormbird in a day.
Appreciated a lot about the book. There are extensive historical notes and family trees. All interesting and helpful. Good characters were to be found in Margaret of Anjou, Thomas Woodchurch, Derry Brewer & Lord Suffolk. The POV from the Frenchmen was well done. Nice to have more than one side of things.
Still ended up with only a 2 star from me. Parts of the story felt too slow. Especially the section about the marriage of Margaret and Henry. The negotiations and troubles and proxy and......after awhile I just wanted to get on with the story. Though without it all, I doubt I would have liked Margaret as much. Bit of a conundrum there for me.
The story of Jack Cade felt jarring at the beginning. I had no idea why it was there and it took awhile to sort out why we kept coming back to his tale.
I imagine the next book will be better as the subject matter will be more interesting. Bring on the Duke of York!
Appreciated a lot about the book. There are extensive historical notes and family trees. All interesting and helpful. Good characters were to be found in Margaret of Anjou, Thomas Woodchurch, Derry Brewer & Lord Suffolk. The POV from the Frenchmen was well done. Nice to have more than one side of things.
Still ended up with only a 2 star from me. Parts of the story felt too slow. Especially the section about the marriage of Margaret and Henry. The negotiations and troubles and proxy and......after awhile I just wanted to get on with the story. Though without it all, I doubt I would have liked Margaret as much. Bit of a conundrum there for me.
The story of Jack Cade felt jarring at the beginning. I had no idea why it was there and it took awhile to sort out why we kept coming back to his tale.
I imagine the next book will be better as the subject matter will be more interesting. Bring on the Duke of York!
riseclare's review against another edition
5.0
Just love this author. Sucks me in- cant put his books down.
emmajcmt's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book!
The plot was gripping and I found myself rooting for characters.
The first part about the King’s spy thinking of a way to find a lasting truce for France was very gripping.
The second part about the English people forced to leave France where they lived for years because of that same truce was powerful, I loved to be able to read about the “victims” of such truces and how they responded to it.
The third part about the rebellion against the throne was also great, however this is the part that got me to give only 4 stars to the first book in the series.
Being “behind the scenes “ of a rebellion was very interesting and gripping , however some parts of it felt very long.
I still loved this book enough to get excited about opening the second book and see how everything will develop as the wars gets worse...
The plot was gripping and I found myself rooting for characters.
The first part about the King’s spy thinking of a way to find a lasting truce for France was very gripping.
The second part about the English people forced to leave France where they lived for years because of that same truce was powerful, I loved to be able to read about the “victims” of such truces and how they responded to it.
The third part about the rebellion against the throne was also great, however this is the part that got me to give only 4 stars to the first book in the series.
Being “behind the scenes “ of a rebellion was very interesting and gripping , however some parts of it felt very long.
I still loved this book enough to get excited about opening the second book and see how everything will develop as the wars gets worse...
kruemelgizmo's review against another edition
4.0
1437: Englands kränklicher König Henry VI. ist unfähig zu reagieren, was das Königshaus bedroht. Zusätzlich kommt es zu erneuten Konflikt mit Frankreich, der England in eine Katastrophe stürzen könnte. Um die Wogen zu glätten und die Macht zu sichern heiratet Henry die französische Adelige Margaret von Anjou. Aber die neue Vereinbarung mit den verhassten Franzosen ruft bei Englands Bevölkerung Empörung, Bestürzung und Angst hervor. Richard, Duke von York, sieht dadurch eine Chance, den aufkommenden Hass gegen den König und seiner französischen Gemahlin für sich zu nutzen…
Sturmvogel ist der erste Teil der Rosenkrieg-Serie von Conn Iggulden
Die Zeit der Rosenkriege ist mir auf der geschichtlichen Ebene nicht wirklich gut geläufig, wie ich beim lesen dieses Buches feststellen musste. Dies machte es mir nicht immer einfach die Namen und die Zusammenhänge zuzuordnen. Trotz Stammbaum war es für mich nicht immer sofort zu erkennen wie wer mit wem zusammengehört, da die adligen Engländer zu der Zeit wohl nicht viel von Namensvielfalt hielten.
Bei diesem Buch liegt das Augenmerk nicht so auf die zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen sondern vor allem auf den Ereignissen, den politischen Gegebenheiten und Ränken und natürlich den Kampf- und Schlachtszenen. Mich konnte dieses Buch damit über große Teile fesseln und ich empfand es mal als was anderes.
Im Nachwort erläutert der Autor die historischen Ungenauigkeiten, was mir gefallen hat, da nicht einfach darüber hinweggegangen wurde.
Mein Fazit:
Ein spannender historischer Roman, der mich trotz kleiner Schwierigkeiten fesseln konnte.
Sturmvogel ist der erste Teil der Rosenkrieg-Serie von Conn Iggulden
Die Zeit der Rosenkriege ist mir auf der geschichtlichen Ebene nicht wirklich gut geläufig, wie ich beim lesen dieses Buches feststellen musste. Dies machte es mir nicht immer einfach die Namen und die Zusammenhänge zuzuordnen. Trotz Stammbaum war es für mich nicht immer sofort zu erkennen wie wer mit wem zusammengehört, da die adligen Engländer zu der Zeit wohl nicht viel von Namensvielfalt hielten.
Bei diesem Buch liegt das Augenmerk nicht so auf die zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen sondern vor allem auf den Ereignissen, den politischen Gegebenheiten und Ränken und natürlich den Kampf- und Schlachtszenen. Mich konnte dieses Buch damit über große Teile fesseln und ich empfand es mal als was anderes.
Im Nachwort erläutert der Autor die historischen Ungenauigkeiten, was mir gefallen hat, da nicht einfach darüber hinweggegangen wurde.
Mein Fazit:
Ein spannender historischer Roman, der mich trotz kleiner Schwierigkeiten fesseln konnte.